Part 36: Chapter 6-6: The Legend Roars to Life

Part 6-6: The Legend Roars to Life

The reputation of our atelier has improved again. I think maybe we’re ready to take the next exam…

Well, what are we waiting for? Rank D awaits!

The twins step outside, when they see…


The Mature Professional

Here is the item you requested. I hope it is satisfactory.

Yes, this is just what I needed! Thanks! Thank you! WOOHOO!!!

Looks like it was a job. She looked really mature there, too, didn’t she?

Yeah. She’s not like that when talking to us, but she’s formal and proper when she has to be.

Right then. Now my work’s finished. Time to head to the bar!

Going to a bar after work! Wow, that’s some more adult points right there!

You said it! The only question now is what will she order? Let’s follow!

Barkeep! Give me my usual!



Firis is incredible! I wonder what her “usual” is?



Wow, it looks delicious again today! Thank you!

What? S-Steak? And look how much!

I’m starving. Time to tuck in! Mmm… munch munch… Ah, so lovely! I’m so happy… I think my tongue might melt!

Ah, Firis, you’re so cute! I could watch you eat all day long!

Uwah, Liane! H-How long have you been here?

Heheh. Wherever you go, Firis, I’ll be there!

I’m not really sure what’s going on, but that’s some incredible confidence…

All down the hatch! That was delicious. Well, I think I need to get back. That was a great snack!



Maybe not. Eating that meat is how she avoids exhaustion, I bet!

Y-Yes, maybe! In which case, I guess Firis is mature after all!

Firis? Mature? For me she’ll always be a child though, I think… I guess she must be mature from your perspective, then. Hehe, I’m lucky to be her big sister!

Firis has acquired the skill “Very Healthy Body”.

Very Healthy Body - Increase resistance to ailments.

Psst… Lydie… I get that Liane would know Firis much better than we do and all, but…

Right? I think she wants to think of Firis as a child no matter what.

Yup… anyway, off to the castle for real!


Flowers for Merveille

What do you think? Do you want to try the next Promotion Test?

Please!

Very well. Time to announce the next exam! Here it comes, girls!



All this rain has made the flowers in the city wither. I’d like to liven them up, if we can. A nutritional treatment made using alchemy should do the job. Do you think you can make some?

Yes, no problem. We’ll pour our hearts into this one, to make sure the flowers bloom again!

Right! Anything for the garden… the crown jewel of our city!

The twins go home.



Alright! “Number and quality will affect evaluation…” So we should use the highest-quality ingredients we have!



And the Ruby letting us make extras will help us speed up the process! Even if I can’t wait for us to be D Rank… the flowers won’t be waiting on us forever!



Good thing we have all this high-quality Distilled Water. That’ll give us a lot of leeway even if our other ingredients aren’t perfect.



All we need to worry about is hitting the quantity and trait transfer spots… and!



You know, I don’t think Mireille will be satisfied with just two Special Nutrients…

We have more than enough ingredients that we can make more high-quality Special Nutrients!



Alright! Let’s go see Mireille for now, and if this isn’t enough to ace the exam, then we can come back here and synthesize some more…


An Evaluation, and…
Flower Stamp Condition : However many Special Nutrients it takes to fill the bar. I used four, but if one of my Nutrients had been higher-quality, I might have just needed three. So having high-quality Distilled Water in reserve will help a ton here, as does having a lot of Rubies to cut down on your synthesizing time.



Good, this should bring the flowers back to life. That means, twins, you’re going up to D Rank!

D Rank! Look at how far we’ve come! We’ve increased our rank quite a lot!

Yes! The pinnacle is in sight! We’ll be the greatest in the kingdom before we know it!

I’m sure you will. To celebrate, I’ve got a new Mysterious Painting all ready…



Kyaaaah! W-W-Was that lightning? Thunder? That one was really loud!

Uraaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!

What was that? Ah, I’m scared, Sue!



Sister! This is bad!

Yes, I know. That cry… He’s awake, isn’t he?

Yes! He’s coming for Merveille, too! What should we do? Follow the plan?

Yes! Call in all the alchemists who can possibly help!

I’m on it!

Wow… I don’t think I’ve ever heard Mathias sound so serious and determined before…

Right? It’s almost more unnerving than that thunderbolt or that roar! Just what in the world is going on?

Twins. I’m sorry, but will you please wait here for just a little while?

Of course, but…

I’m sorry if this is upsetting. I will explain all of this once everyone gets here.

We understand. Lydie, let’s wait over there.

...Oh, I can see Lucia already!

Present. …So it’s come to this…

I’m here!



My father is synthesizing in our atelier. He said he’d better continue his preparations.

Ilmeria said the same. As soon as she got word, she started synthesizing at an amazing pace.

Good. I warned them both well ahead of time. What about the other alchemists, then?

Maybe they decided to run? All that noise, that shouting… Some are sure to lose their nerve.

Well, we can’t force them. This is a very dangerous situation. Okay. I’ll start by explaining to everyone here about what’s going on. Before that, though, let me ask. Do you know the Legend of the Thunder God?

The old tale about the rampaging god Falgior, sealed away by a hero and an alchemist?

That’s the one. As it turns out, the Legend of the Thunder God isn’t just a story. It’s fact. So…

That thunder, and those cries, were because Falgior has awoken?

Correct. The reason for all this rain has been because his awakening was drawing near. We suspected that Falgior was coming, but we didn’t expect him quite so soon.

What can we do, then? If the legend is true, he’ll destroy the city!

This has been our worry, too. But we’ve been taking steps. For example, the Atelier Ranking System. You alchemists are our key to defeating Falgior.

Of course! In the Legend of the Thunder God, Falgior was sealed away by an alchemist!

So maybe we can use alchemy to stop Falgior?

That was my idea, too. But this kingdom wasn’t really focused on alchemy before, so we have very few alchemists available. So we created the ranking system in order to attract more powerful alchemists to the city. With that…



Of course! I’ll do whatever I can to help you!

I want to investigate more paintings. I will lend you my aid, to make that happen.

Me too! I’ll show this so called god what Atelier Borthayre can do!

We’ll help too! We can’t be the greatest if there’s no kingdom left! Not to mention…



We’ll do our best, too! Let’s kick this Falgior black and blue!

Thank you, all of you, for your bravery and resolve. Now then, I have to go and work out our strategy. We’ll need to compensate for our numbers. Can you all just wait here a little longer?

Can do!

We’ll be looking forward to what you’re planning.

Hmm, what should we do? A bit strange, with all this going on, but we’ve got some free time. For as long as Mireille is strategizing, anyway.

I know. Let’s talk to the others. They’ll have thoughts on what’s going on, and how to tackle this crisis.


Music: A Town Shrouded in Shadow

Lucia seems to want a word!

Hehe, I knew I could count on you, Sue! Kick him black and blue, was it? A Thunder God?

I don’t care what he’s god of, there are legends about him! He must be a crusty old grandpa by now! Hehe, our youthful power won’t be defeated by some old lightning coot!

Hold on, Sue. We don’t even know what he looks like!

Hahaha! You’re right! We’re young and strong! Youth is a source of great strength. Being young means you still have so much potential to grow. The two of you have grown so much already. We have lots of great alchemists here, too. If we all work together, we can defeat even this Thunder God! Right?

You said it! Hehe, let’s do our best, Lucia!

Firis really seems lost in thought over there…



Good question. Hmm… We have a custom around here. When you hear thunder, you cover your belly button.

That stops it from being taken away. Which means, what? Lightning likes belly buttons?

Hmm. So maybe Falgior likes them too?

Ah, that’s it! We’ll all go out wearing clothing exposing our belly buttons, throwing him off guard!

Great idea! We need to get changed into some crop tops, quickly!

I’ve got just the thing! Haha, you’ll dazzle him with your tummies! That’s the only way!



Dazzling tummies, is it. I wonder if mine would have any effect?

Ah, right! We still oughta get Alt’s input. He really seemed to know something was going on!

Alt! Huh, what’s with that scowl of yours?



What? Alt? You knew about Falgior?

Of course. Surely anyone who knows the legend would draw the same conclusion? I gave you a warning, did I not? That some parts of the future can’t be changed?

Neither of us understood that mumbo jumbo! If you knew something, you should have just said it!

Even if you had known the future, you wouldn’t have been able to prevent Falgior from reviving. What matters now is, how do we defeat Falgior? That’s what we need to be concentrating on.

Right… nothing could have stopped Falgior’s revival… so what matters is what we all do next.

We need to plan a step ahead, for the fate of the city lies in our hands. So… Lydie, Sue. I’m counting on you.

I know! We’ll be counting on you, too!

Girls! Looks like Mireille’s coming out!


Mireille’s Counterattack

Ah, Mireille! Just what do we have to do?

It’s all pretty simple, actually. I’m splitting our alchemists into two groups.



Those two, and our knights, will hold Falgior back and cause whatever damage they can.



It’s going to be rough, what with these numbers, but I think it’s also our best chance. The success of this operation will rely on you, Group Two, and your teamwork. Just think of this as another investigation, and go teach this Falgior a lesson!

We will!

Right. I’ll send Group One into the field. You get ready while that happens. Once you are ready, just let me know. Don’t drag your feet!

Right! Sue, let’s go home and prepare…

Let’s! Everything we’ve ever known and loved is on the line here…


The Twins’ Resolve

What! Dad, you know what’s going on, right?

We’ll take a trip another time. There’s something we have to do.

Go and fight the Thunder God, right? Lucia’s father told me about it. You two don’t have to be a part of that. There are plenty of others who can handle it.

No, there aren’t. We live here. If we run off, how could we ever face the ones who stay and fight?

Don’t worry about us, Dad! We’ll defeat this Thunder God with a single blow!

Really, you-

Right! We don’t have time for this, we have to get ready! What do we need?



Hmm, dunno if we need to do any last minute synthesizing…



Huh? Did you hear Dad, Sue?

Meh… don’t think so. Anyway!



We can swap out the Bomb for something else, since the Ori Bomb makes it obsolete.

I don’t know what that means, but I do know we don’t need a plain old Bomb anymore! And the Mining Bomb is useless in combat, so we can swap that out too!



So… that’ll be another high-quality Ice Bomb, and some Strength Meat we made ourselves.

Right then, off we go!

The twins return to the castle.


The Twins Sortie

Good. Let’s wait for everyone else.

After everyone reports…

Right, that’s everyone. In which case…



Roger that! Group Two, time to go! I’m counting on all of you!