Part 27: XXI-2: Pages of Wrapping Up

Part XXI-2: Pages of Wrapping Up

Another two-parter update, mostly to log in the considerable backlog of scenes and gameplay I wracked up in the process of recording the stuff for last update. As you might guess, meeting Mana in the depths of Orthogalaxen is a pretty important moment in the story, and after that, even more so. So it would certainly serve us well to handle what remains before continuing the plot. We begin in Arls...yeah, that sounds right.


Whoa, Niko?! What's the matter? Why are you crying?!
*sniff* Oh no...! This can't be happening!
Wait, don't tell me...! Did you get yourself caught up in some kind of trouble?!
No, that's not it at all! I don't believe it! This book...! It's a real tearjerker!
...What?
You see... This book I'm reading, it really me emotional.
(Looks like I was all worried for nothing.)
I've never actually read a novel before. When you're at sea, the pages tend to get all damp. But when I started reading this book I got from a client, I realized just how interesting they can be! I'm so moved! I just had to share this feeling with someone! That's why I came to see you, Lulua!
Ahaha. So that's what this is about. Let me see the book. Hmm...It's for children, you know? Looks like it's about human kindness. Yeah, I could see how you'd have a soft spot for something like this.
Something like this? Lulua! Are you saying...you know of other books like this?!
Yeah, I suppose so. Do you want me to tell you the names?
Would you?! That'd be great! Hehe. You're the best, Lulua! So, what are they? I can't wait to see where the stories will take me next!
Ahaha, sure thing. Let's see, how about we start with...

Aww, soft as a kitten, this guy. Dangerous games


Ms. Keina?! What's wrong? You're pale as a ghost!
Yes, it's terrible! A dangerous monster has appeared at Mt. Velus! If it comes to town, the casualties will be immense!
Oh no, really?! We've got to go take care of it then!
I don't think you should.
Ficus?! Why not? Is this another "monsters have reasons too" thing? I don't think now's the right time for that...
No, that's not it. I ask you not to, simply because it's so dangerous. There are some humans and monsters that never listen to anyone. This one may be one of them.
But still, we have to go defeat it!
Listen to me. This monster is incredibly strong. There's no way to know if you'll win. Actually. It's much more likely you'll lose. Lulua, it's important to not overdo it.

On the other hand, nothing more foolish than betting against the lucky. Granted luck doesn't last forever, but things seem to have gone well so far for Lulua.


...!
Besides, I won't know unless I try, right? It might be easier than you think! Ficus. Please, lend me your help! Protect the people of Arls with me!
...OK. I guess I must if you'll go so far as to beg. Let's go see what this monster has for us.
...OK!

You didn't think we were done in Velus, did you? Naaah, not a chance. Keina also has something for us if we head to the Town Hall.


Lulua! Perfect timing!
Really? What's going on? You look a little frazzled.
Yeah. I've got a little bit of an emergency. Um... Would you be able to make me an axe? You can't ask why.
An axe? Sure, no problem. You must be really desperate to ask that, so I assume it's a real emergency... I'll make you an axe as quickly as possible and bring it back here!
Thank you so much! This means a lot to me.

Oookay then...well, let's make that axe and give it to her. She'll know what to do with it. Strong women


Ahh! Thank you so much Lulua! I've got to go! See you! *runs out*
Ms. Keina! Where are you going?!

*fade to black*


Phew...
Ms. Keina! Where did you go? I was worried about you!
Did you...did you wait for me? Ack, sorry... But it's OK! The emergency has been resolved!
Oh, well that's good at least... But I'm kind of dying to know...
Well, the truth is that a group of dangerous monsters appeared near Arls.
Uh-oh...
We're talking way more dangerous than the Puni Rangers here.

No disrespect to Arls' (well, Arland's really) newest, most...recognizable citizens, but those guys weren't the most threatening bunch in the whole world.

Gosh...
Even the citizen guard would wind up injured, or worse. So...
So?

Oh, I see. You--Wait, what?! What what what? You don't mean...?! You used that axe to...
Defeat the monsters? Yup, sure did.
Whaaaaaaat? I didn't know you could fight!
Yes, well... I used to train with Meruru. Hehe, that axe you gave me is super nice. It would have been a lot more work without it!

Glad we could help... You'll remember that Keina used to throw uh, pills or something from the basket she carried to accompany Meruru. This was an AoE attack and had a chance to inflict Sleep against most enemies. So she wouldn't get much exercise in that way, so guess she's been putting in some overtime in-between games.

Incidentally, the kind of axe you make is the same kind Melvia could use, so definitely built for a bruiser.

I...see...
Thanks again, Lulua! I'm so grateful.

You get a very healthy 3000 Cole from completing Keina's request here. This charity thing pays.

Y-You're...welcome... Uh... (I had no idea that Ms. Keina was so strong... She mentioned training with Ms. Meruru. Hmm. Eva and Ms. Keina are very alike. Quiet women hiding amazing strength.)

That's how it usually goes in Atelier games, it's true. Well, if Keina can handle her monster, I'm sure we can handle ours. Off to Velus.



This Runestone was actually pretty good. Came with a Barrier Rune M effect (+10 DEF / reduces all types of damage by 8%) and Spirit Slayer / TP Optimization / Attack+Speed Boost. Well, it's really just a filler until I actually get around to making real accessories. NOW off to the crater.



By the way, Draconias? Yep, they can be IK'd. Just, uh, mentioning that for now. Human growth


...! It's so intimidating! This is the monster Ms. Keina told us about...!
Yes, that's right. An incredibly powerful monster. Lulua. Are you sure about this? There's no guarantee we'll make it out alive.
That's OK... I'll still do it! I...I can't run away!
...
Now...! Let's go, Ficus!


Yeah...this guy's stats are just a bit shy of "impressive". If you can't take him to the cleaners in just a few minutes, probably time to upgrade. That is, if you don't want to IK him. That's also an option.



On an alternate playthrough, I discovered this rather strange occurrence. It...dropped two Dragon Eyes? If you say so...


All right, we won! Ficus, we did it!
I-I can't believe it... You really managed to defeat it? I wasn't even going full force. Is this the true power of humans? Is this the power of..."growth"? No... The power of perseverance? Is the unyielding heart the source of human power?
Ficus! Ficus!!
What?! O-Oh, what's up?
Don't "what's up" me! We defeated the monster, so let's go back to Arls. We need to report the request and reassure Ms. Keina. Come on, let's go!

*Lulua runs off*

Y-Yes... I'll be right there. The unyielding heart... Then I, too...

In spite of what the end of the above scene may imply, you don't actually have to go back to Arls or report anything to anyone. There is a nearby chest, though, with a Dragon Plate Armor with decent traits in it. You can make something much better by now though, hopefully. But, use it if one of the men is hurting for an upgrade and you can't be bothered. Wrap up whatever other business you have in Velus, and back we go. I opted to warp back to Arland. An unusual name


I implore you! Please, Master!
W-What's the matter here? Stop it, you two, we can't have fighting!
Oh, Lulua. We're not really fighting. It's just... A bit of a delicate matter.
A delicate matter?
Well... The thing is... I'm trying to get Master to change my name.
Change your name?!
Yes. Let me ask you, Nano Master. What do you think of my name?
Oh, er, well, um... This really is a delicate matter!
That's not an answer! Go ahead and say it. You think it's weird.


Still not saying she likes it very much...

Right? It's not that I hate it or anything. It's just very different to other people's names.
Yeah, but isn't that fine? At least it's easy to remember. Besides... If I change your name, I'll have to change the others' names as well.
Ugh... Well, maybe...
(The others?)
Anyway, can this discussion wait? It's not something I can decide, anyway. OK, break it up! We're done here! Come on!
I'm going, I'm going. I apologize for wasting your time, Master.

*the two leave*

Hmm, I had a lot of stuff to ask about. I wonder who she meant by "the others"? I'll ask her discreetly about it next time.

This next scene pops up if Rorona's friendship level is at 30% or greater. We actually have a big destination we need to visit this update, and seeing this scene is a big part of that. You'll see why. Mother and daughter alliance



Ahhh! Lu-Lulua? Y-You surprised me...
Sorry, Mom... I tried getting your attention a few times, but... Don't worry about it. What should work? C'mon, please tell me!
Uh... I can't tell you! I-It's a secret!
Huh? Why? Well...I think I know what's going on, but...
Oh. T-Then guess!
You took a request to defeat monsters and you're going to go alone!
You got me! H-How'd you know?
Well, I saw you were making bombs and medicine, so... You know I'm not going to let you, right? Now that I know, no way you're going alone! I'm coming with you! No buts!
Lulua... Uhh, you seem dead set on this... I wanted to keep you away from dangerous places... No point in arguing, ready to go?
Yup! This is definitely better, trust me. You never know what you might run into!


She wants to go to the Forgotten Village, which is in the direction of Orthogalaxen and the Slumbering Holy Tree Forest. Gotta be efficient about these things. Hopefully this'll go well. A special request




And here we are. And yes, I did download a DLC costume for Rorona. Her swimsuit outfit, namely. Mostly because I like sarongs, and Rorona now has the charm of an adult woman.

Yeah... Be careful, Lulua. Don't get hurt!
I'll be fine! All right..let's go!


Ho-hum dragon, really nothing to talk about. Well, except for them starting to come down from the Ster Highlands. That's bad.


Phew... Lulua, are you all right?
I'm fine! But it was pretty tough, wasn't it?
Yeah. This was a request from my best friend, so I'm glad we took care of it.
Best friend? Mom's best friend?! Hey, hey, tell me what they're like!
Y-Your eyes lit right up... Um, she's my childhood friend. She's not very tall, but is super responsible, always goes above and beyond for work. Oh, her name is Cory! It's cute, right?
C-Cory?
Yup! Cory as in Cordelia!

But god forbid you call her that, unless you're Rorona. Only she gets to use that nickname to her face.

Cordelia...Cordelia? You don't mean...! Chancellor of the Arland Republic, Cordelia von Feuerbach?!
Yeah, that's her! Ahaha, Cory's amazing, isn't she? It still feels weird to think of her as the Chancellor.

Yeah, seriously. Last we saw her she was running the Adventurer's Guild in Arland. Totori had to report to her as part of becoming a formal Adventurer, and she also helped resolve the mystery of what happened to Gisela before the events of Atelier Totori began. Rorona+ goes into more of the backstory of how she came to work at the castle, but the person herself says that Gio was a big part of it, when he said that he could trust her alone to manage some of the affairs of state. Apparently she took quite well to that position and has certainly moved up in the world since.

U-Uh... The fact that you know the Chancellor says a lot about you... Wow... Mom, you really are something else... A request from the Chancellor... I can't slack off... I don't want your daughter to embarrass you! *wanders off*
Huh? Wait, Lulua! What happened? Lulua! Hey, Lulua! Lulua...! Heeey!

Kid, Rorona's got connections all over the place. She has connection to vagrants (former vagrants in the case of Lionela, no idea what Tantris has been doing since he also began working for the government as of Totori), cooks, ghosts, knights, the former aristocracy via Gio, and famous but mad scientists. This is, of course, not to mention her highly distinguished informal students. And that's just who we know about. But now we're off to the Holy Tree Forest. A very valuable location, and the only unsolved riddle for Chapter 10 has both clues located there.



This is indeed a nice place. First off, we're headed to the far side of this location.



I think this might be the highest-tier rabbit in the game? If it is, it's not substantially different from the others. For once, it does have a notch of resistance to Fire / Lightning, but also completely blocks Ice damage. It has a fairly meaty 9600 HP on V Hard, but aside from its ability to inflict Sleep, nothing really special about it. Did want to mention this, though.



Triple Hidden Blade Stance is a pretty cool technique for Aurel. Finally gives him some AOE damage, but the problem is...my recording software is kind of touchy about it. I think it's a lot of fast movement / color changes that messes with it. Proof. This video is a joke, so it doesn't get to be in the official roster for this update. Suffice to say I won't be using this on-camera, but do be assured it's pretty cool.

Also, that Hagel symbol, now that I see it closer...there must be a limit to bad taste. The other part of the Puni Hill riddle can be finished around here, as I mentioned. Thanks to our IK Craft, those Ultra Puni with three layers of Physical/Fire/Ice resistance are no match for us. They can drop both Rainbow and Gold Puniballs, so these are some pretty good enemies to grind some materials for.



But we're hardly done around here.



I'm sure you can guess how this ended. These are the AoE IK wolves, so I think turnabout is fair play.



First off, this tree has a Creation Tree Twig, which has both a valuable trait (Pulse of Life, which recovers from Stun and increases the power of healing items by 20%). Much more convenient option than using Lulua or Aurel to do it. In addition to that, Creation Tree Twigs are also a necessary ingredient for Lulua's final weapon.

Second, that nest, and similar nests in this location, have a low chance of giving you Azure Wings. Since we technically right now could start making Ultimate Equipment, I would very strongly advise you to gather a fair amount of these. 6-8 would be good. I might have mentioned this, but Azure Wings have Awaken (Elixir) as an Awakened Effect. (Elixir) is a very ubiquitous item category, so you'll probably have quite a bit of need of this.



And yeah, game has a bit of trouble deciding what the name of this place is. This area actually was in Totori, with a name similar to the one is has in this game, but there was nothing too special about it. You probably only passed by it once or twice on a playthrough. Oh, and another thing about this thing is the Quality on some of the Twigs I got were insane: some of them were 283 Quality.



This chest has our final Special Trait in it: Divine Mastery. This one allows creation of the highest-tier traits related to TP, WT, Strengthening, and Weakening. You'll almost certainly use it primarily for Divine Inheritance, which adds +25 TP to a synthesis. Together with Optimization and Maximization, that all adds +52 TP to a synthesis, just all potentially on one item. Considering the cost of the highest-tier traits, we're gonna need it.



A puni to surpass all others... Nah, doesn't quite work when you put it like that.



Lulua is so ecstatic about all these Special Traits lately, she's *floating*, I tell you. We're headed back to Arklys this time. Send in the Chims



Yes, although... There are parts of it I enjoy...
...Excuse me?
Oh, Nano Master. Welcome back.
(Marudayu) Welcome back.
...Whaaaaaat?! There are...two Mr. Dragons?? Wh-Whaaaaaat is going on?! How? Cloning? Spontaneous generation??

Well...the latter isn't too far from the truth.

(Marudayu) This seems to have caused her some consternation.
Well, that's Nano Master for you. Um, excuse me...
(Marudayu) This is Chim Marudayu. You could call us brothers. He's a Chim Ranger just like me.
Huh? "Chim Ranger"? Brothers...?
Exactly!
T-Teacher! What's going on here? I'm having trouble keeping track of all this.
Well, I don't blame you. I haven't really explained it before, have I? Well, actually... Chim Dragon and Chim Marudayu were originally homunculi known as Chims. Thanks to Totori's efforts, they grew into what you see today. Since then, they've supported alchemists the world over as the Chim Rangers!
H-Huh?
What's up, Lulua? You still seem a little confused.
No... It's just kind of incredible. It reminds me how crazy alchemy really is.
Indeed. And Grand Master Totori's skills are incredible even for an alchemist.
(Marudayu) Yeah. We respect her greatly. ...Aside from her naming ability.

So I should explain. This is only something I discovered when I played Totori DX on PS4 over a year ago (as of the time of this writing) as part of my Atelier World Tour (which consisted of playing Rorona+ to Lydie & Suelle) and decided to see what would happen if you let Totori name all the Chims on her own. It turns out that she's a disaster at naming things normally. If you keep letting her name the Chims, she comes up with wackier and wackier names that gets Rorona more and more worried about the Chims (remember, you had to make the Chims at the gumball machine in Atelier Rorona, so Rorona was there to witness the birth of all the Chims). As it turns out, her fears were well-founded.

Really wish I showed this off in the LP, but how was I supposed to know Gust would make this scene years down the line based on that silly bit of lore? Can't anticipate everything. I don't exactly remember if Dragon and Marudayu were two of the names, but I'm almost sure they were, otherwise this scene would not make sense.

Her naming ability? Ah, so you mean...
Yeah. The one who named us...
(Marudayu) Was none other than Grand Master Totori.
Ah... I see... Ms. Totori really is incredible, but...
Right. She does have a cooooouple of gaps, haha.
(Marudayu) Well, there's nothing to be done. Let's get back to work, Dragon.
Quite. *sigh*...

But in all this fun, seems like Eva's not getting along very well... Time to head for the Orphanage. Painful history


Eva...
Sorry about before... I just left you behind, didn't I...
It's fine. You don't have to worry about me. But...are you sure? I mean, you actually found your real mother. And a chance to live together with her...
I'm... I'm sure the others are going to chew me out for refusing a life of luxury, but... I just couldn't. Actually, I could never. You see... I always knew about my real parents.
What?! Really??
Yeah. I had done a bit of research. And what the butler John said is right. I am the eldest of Brauglass Family, a member of the Arland aristocracy. But... My father had concerns about infighting over the inheritance, and sent me to the orphanage.
...
And so, recently... A successor or something was chosen. And I guess... They just decided they could bring me home... It's not fair. It's really not fair... To just send people away and then call them back whenever you feel like it. And they really think they're doing ME a favor. They have... They have no idea how I feel!
Eva...
*sniff*... I... I'm sorry, Lulua... Could you... Could you just lend me your shoulder for a second?
Of course...! You know I'll always be part of your true family. Go on and cry as much as you like. I won't be going anywhere...


Dang... We need to do something, and fast. But for now, it's back to Arland. Next two scenes are in this video. Chim Growth Hormone


Hrmhrmhrm... Ms. Totori, are you having trouble with something? If you are, I'm sure I can help! No matter the problem, I'll solve it! Please let me help!
Is that so...? Well, if that's the case, um, I want to make a special tonic. But I don't have enough materials. I should go gather some more, but...
You don't have the time for that... Understood! OK, I'll go gather those materials and bring them here!
Really...? If you could, that would be great. I'm sorry to impose... But I do really need these materials. Please be careful, Lulua.

She needs a World Spirit, a few of which we got on our first trip to Velus. Let's just hand one over and...


Let me see. Yeah, I think this should be good. Thank you, Lulua. I'll be able to make a tonic with this.
Hehe, that's great... Speaking of which, what kind of tonic is that? You said it was "special", but... How?
Well... Um... You know Chim Dragon?
Ah, yes. I do.
Originally, Chim Dragon was a Chim. A type of small homunculus.
Oh, yes, I've heard that. You made him grow somehow, right? O-Oh! Don't tell me! That tonic you're trying to make...

Chims are hard workers, but their arms and legs are short, so there's a limit to what they can do. So to help them grow, we need to make this tonic.
I...see...
Hehe, thanks a bunch for the ingredients! Here you go. A small token of my thanks.
Oh! T-Thank you very much...
OK, then, I'm going to make this tonic real quick! Farewell for now!

*departs*

OK, see you... Ms. Totori's alchemy... It's so different to mine in a lot of ways. Aha, ahaha... Alchemy really seems to know no bounds...

You will learn that lesson soon enough, if you haven't already. True admiration


*stare*...
Swirl, swirl...there! Then we add a little of this...
*intense stare*
Er, Mr. Dragon? I-Is there anything I can do for you?
No. Pay me no heed. I'm merely observing.
It's kind of hard to concentrate with you staring...
Ah, please forgive me. I was just thinking how skillful you've gotten, Nano Master.
Ah... I-Is that right...? Hehe, perhaps I have! But surely you're much better at alchemy than me. You make all sorts of items.
I wouldn't say that. All I can do is duplicate existing items. I cannot create things from scratch like you do, Nano Master. That's why I consider your skills superlative to mine.

The difference in ability between Astrid and Rorona shines through yet again. As of Meruru, the Homs could both make items and gather materials, operating on their own. That aside, Totori has certainly improved the Chims' functionality, if nothing else. In addition to having much more individual personality, the Chims are duplicating items a lot faster than they did in her game, where reproduction of high-level items with high-level traits could take more than a month to make just a single item. It was pretty funny turning the Chims collectively into Totori's personal weapons factory, though. That was only necessary because wholesaling was badly nerfed in that game, in a way Gust has never done since, but details.

Hmm...is that so? That makes me feel good.
Yes. It is no mean feat to develop so quickly. I have a great deal of respect for you. Do I sometimes wish you'd be less haphazard? Do I wish you'd clean up after yourself? Yes. But despite that, like I said... I still have a great deal of respect for you.
I...see. I feel like there were some barbs hidden in there.
Not at all. Well, maybe. Hehe. At any rate, I look forward to seeing how you grow further.
...Hmm. OK, got it. I'll try to grow in the direction of cleaning up after myself more! Haha!
Heh.

And finally, back to Arls to wrap this update up. I do wish all of this could have been done more naturally, but hey, it happens. Off the books


Sure, no problem. Leave it to me.
Great. Let me know when it's done.
All right then.

Oh! Lulua! Don't tell me you saw all of that!
Yup. Every last bit of it! What were you doing? It looked like you were talking to a rather suspicious looking man... Don't tell me you're into something dangerous!
Well, it's not exactly dangerous really... Ya see, I got a request to do something.
A request?
Yeah. Although, it's not exactly a proper request. It's kind of a secret request that you don't exactly post on the job boards.
A secret request?!
That's right. It pays better than regular requests. But I promise I'm not doing anything dangerous. Please just forget about it, Lulua! I need to earn some money! Alright?!
I understand. However, I don't think I can just forget about this. Now that I know you have a request, I'm going to help you out!
Umm... I don't think that's a good idea.
I've made up my mind!
I, uh... O-OK, sure. I've been asked to defeat a monster. We just need to take it out like usual.
Hunting monsters... Sounds easy enough. OK, then. Let's get going, Niko!
Sure. Sorry about this, Lulua.

Nah, it's just heading to Nearby Forest. Nothing to apologize for. How to make money


Understood! OK, let's get rid of these things!

Buncha weakling bats. Nothing worth mentioning.


Yes, we did! Nice work, Niko!
Ah, you too, Lulua! Hehe. That completes the request. At this rate, I'll have my ship in no time!
Your ship? Don't tell me, the reason you're saving money is...
I guess I never mentioned this before, but... I'm planning to buy a new ship! Since that adventurer Gisela split my old one in half! Hah hah hah!

Well, she did have a big-ass sword that was half the size of herself and it is universally agreed she has freakish strength. Not inconceivable she could split a small boat in half, when you think about it.

Huh?! Split in half?! I heard that it was destroyed, but not like that... Huh? Although, if you know the adventurer's name, why don't you just ask her for the money?
Yeah, I can't really do that. Because...
Because?
I've seen what she can do with a sword. There's no way I could get her to cough up the money!
I see...
So that's why I'm saving up money to buy a new ship! Hehe. What do you say we get going? I need to report back to my client and collect my money. *goes to get paid*

At any rate, it does sound just like you.

And finally, heading back to town to finally, finally make that Authorized Key. Hey, gotta have some plot content in this update.



Another day, another plot-important synthesis you can't fail. If you accidentally used your Personal Key in a synthesis prior to this, though, you'll need to make a new one. The Authorized Key


So this is the Authorized Key... I've heard of it, but I've never seen one before...
Oh, really? What does it do?
Well... It's a key with higher authority than the Personal Key.
Higher authority...?
I'm the Operator of Fellsgalaxen, so I have an authorization to control most of its functions. However, that door is above even my authority. Without permission, I cannot access it. The door was likely closed due to a malfunction caused by the collapse of Ethogalaxen. But...
So... If we have this Authorized Key, we'll be able to open it?
Yes, that's exactly...what I'd like to say. But it won't work.
Uh...? Why not? The key alone isn't enough?
Yes. In truth, I don't actually have the permission to use the Authorized Key.
Umm, well... I'm pleased that I made it and all, but now you're saying we can't use it?!
Yes, so it seems...
No! How can that be?! What was Mana thinking...

Now, Lulua. In order to find out that reason... I believe we must find Mana in Orthogalaxen.
You're right. No point worrying about it right now. All right, then. Orthogalaxen! Here we come!

So yeah, that's the reason we can't just go meet Mana in Orthogalaxen whenever we feel like it, and indeed, it seems she saw this coming. If you go back to the depths of Fellsgalaxen and try to enter that door, like Stia said, nothing will happen. Nowhere to go but to meet her. Let's hope there's not a giant robot lying in wait for us this time.