Part 18: Bonus Update 3

Bonus Update 3

Concept Art

Ancient City Royum
Mt. Surva
Thunderbolt Palace
Eternal Sand Dunes

CGs

Gnome's Dream
And that’s it for CGs until the ending. Yes, there’s CGs for all our named NPCs while there isn’t a single CG in this game with Alette, Olias or Diebold in it, which is quite the departure from just about any modern Atelier game and something I hope isn’t indicative of a long-term trend. Still, the 3D modeling for the party and the choreographing Gust does with it goes some way to compensate, I GUESS.

Concert Hall

Map themes
Mountains (Day): Far Ridges (Achiwa)
Mountains (Night): Misty Ridges (Achiwa)
Volcano (Day): Crimson Rift (Achiwa)
Volcano (Night): Dark Rift (Achiwa)
Thunderbolt Palace: Distant Lightning (Yanagawa, with Haruka Shimotsuki on chorus)
Desert (Day): Laughing Sand (Yanagawa)
Desert (Night): Weeping Sand (Yanagawa)

Battle themes
Zmei: Donning the Blue Sky (Ryudai Abe)
Lategame battles: Ride on Moonlight (Achiwa)

Story recaps

Chapter 6
Zmei Attacks
The black dragon Zmei was waiting for us when we exited the cavern. This time, we’re not backing down!
So Diebold has been trying to slay the Zmei since before he even came to this world. I can understand why he's so obsessed with the Zmei, considering how it stole the lives of so many people important to him. I wonder if continuing forward will lead to another battle with the Zmei?
We've been stopped in our tracks because the path ahead has been destroyed. But I might be able to make a tool to help us move forward using a stone dropped by the Zmei. I'll need to think about it back at the atelier.
Dream Vessel
Ramizel told us that in order to change the weather, we need to make a Dream Vessel first. Elvira can then infuse it with some of her power, turning it into a weather control tool. So, I'll have to start by coming up with a recipe!
Plachta came up with a recipe for a Dream Vessel! It looks a bit tricky to make, but I'm sure Plachta can do it! We can start as soon as the materials are ready.
Plachta completed the Dream Vessel. Wow, she's getting better and better at this … I'll
need to work hard to keep up! Anyway, we should take the Dream Vessel over to Elvira.
The Dream Vessel transformed into a Floating Gibeon once Elvira infused it with her power. With this, we should be able to continue beyond the destroyed mountain path. Let's depart for Royum Base!
Just as we were about to leave town, a large earthquake suddenly struck. According to Elvira, there might be a problem with the Dream Core in the volcano. We should hurry and check on it.

Chapter 7
The Volcano
We've returned to the destroyed path. We couldn't continue on before, but the Floating Gibeon should be able to help us out. Let's hurry up and try it out on the Dreamspace Stone!
The volcanic zone is so hot, we're all soaked with sweat. On the other hand, the goddess Elvira looks as cool as a cucumber. It feels kind of unfair … But, this isn't the time to focus on such things. We need to look for the Dream Core.
There was another big earthquake! It seems like it was also caused by a problem with the Dream Core. What on earth could be happening to it?
The entrance to the Dream Core space has been sealed off by a giant boulder. But, there might be another place connected to the Dream Core dimension if we turn back a little and then head east. I can't stop worrying about the Dream Core, so we should check it out right away!
Seeking Lightning
Just when we thought we'd hit another roadblock, Elvira told us that we could progress if you use the power of lightning. It looks like we'll need to use the Gebet Stone to make a tool for summoning lightning. We're already pressed for time, but we've got to double back…
Even with the Gebet Stone, we'll need something with strong lightning power to make the Dream Vessel. But, can we find something like that around here? Since Kati is full of information, she might be able to help.
Gnome and Kati told us about a lightning-clad Adler that appeared in this world in the past. After it was defeated, Pirka took all the materials. I hope she still has them … I'd better go to Pirka's shop and ask her.
First the Soul Stone, and now a Thunderbird Feather! I can't thank Pirka enough! But that voice I heard when I got the feather sounded familiar … Was I just hearing things? Well, I've got the materials I need, so it's time to think up a recipe.
The Power of Lightning
The Dream Vessel recipe is ready! It looks like this one's not going to be easy … But this is no time to be second-guessing myself! Once I've made sure I have all the ingredients, I just need to get it done.
Ramizel said that the voice I heard when I received the Thunderbird Feather might have been the material speaking to me. Apparently, it's possible to hear what materials wish to become! I really hope I'll be able to hear the voices of lots of different materials! But for now I should focus on taking the Dream Vessel to Elvira.
It turns out that Elvira has been severing her own power to infuse the Dream Vessels with it, and that there's no easy way for her to regain that power … That's why she's been in so much pain … We can't let her efforts go to waste. We need to get to the Dream Core inside the volcano!
We should be able to push ahead if we use the Crackling Dravite on the Dreamspace Stone …
Elvira created a path connecting up to the realm where the Dream Core is. I'm certain there's another powerful monster ahead. We should ready ourselves.
The Threat Ahead
What's Groll doing here?! … But, we'll have to worry about that later. Anything that's in our way is in for a beating!
Until now, there haven't been any Groll in the same dimension as the Dream Cores. Could that mean that the Groll are the cause of the problems with the Dream Cores? We need to keep moving forward to find out.
We heard the sounds of powerful monsters fighting. Something big must be waiting for us up ahead. We should prepare ourselves for battle before we keep going.
It turns out that the Zmei has been attacking the Dream Core, cracking it and causing the earthquakes. But we won't let him do any more damage! Let's stop it, no matter what it takes!
We might have defeated the Zmei, but the Dream Core is still all cracked. It's so bad that even Elvira can't fix it, and the surrounding land itself might break apart! But the Dream Core fragments told me definitively that they aren't ready to give up. Let's take the fragments back to town for now.
Something’s Wrong
The mood around town feels … off somehow. No one seems to have any energy, and we've seen a bunch of people who look like they've given up on everything. Maybe Kati knows what's going on…
The Groll raided the town and attacked some of the residents while we were away. Plachta did manage to capture one of them, so she's going to use it to study the Groll's biology. In the meantime, I'm going to think of a way to fix the Dream Core. First, I'll need to go back to the atelier.

Chapter 8
Repairing a Dream Core
The fragments of the Dream Core spoke to me. They want to return to their previous form and support the land … Don't worry, I'll think up a recipe and make your wish come true!
I've completed the recipe, but we only have enough materials for me to have one shot at making it … But, it's okay! I know I can get this right!
I managed to make the Reverie Powder, so I should be able to use this to fix the Dream Core! Let's head back to the Dream Core in the volcano.
Thanks to the Reverie Powder, I was able to restore the Dream Core to its original state. Now the surrounding land won’t disappear! I better report back to Plachta in the Mayor’s Office.
The Groll
It turns out the Groll are monsters who eat dreams, and they've been possessing the townspeople to do just that! Geez! People's dreams aren't snacks! Elvira must be taking this really hard. I'd better head over to the Dream Tree and check up on her.
Elvira said that I, and everyone else in Roytale, should go back to the real world to be safe, but there's no way I'm going to do that! Elvira's dream is just as important as ours. I should come up with a way to bring a smile to everyone's faces.
Apparently the Dream Tree’s large crystal is also a Dream Core, so I think it’s pretty likely that the Groll were after it when they attacked Roytale. Now that I’ve got an idea of what’s happening, I should try to think of a way to stop the Groll.
Anti-Groll Measures 1
Since the Groll have their sights set on the Dream Tree's Core, we can be pretty sure that the other Dream Cores will be targeted again as well. Thankfully, it sounds like Plachta has a plan. I wonder what kind of recipe she'll come up with …
Increase staff or pickaxe gathering rank to 3.
Plachta came up with a recipe for a tool that blocks any signs of dreams' presence. If we use it, the Groll won't be able to detect dreams anymore and won't attack the townspeople or the Dream Cores! Once it's ready, we'll need to take it to the Dream Core.
The Groll-warding Stone is ready. This should do the trick to stop the Groll attacks, right? We'd better hurry and use this to protect the Dream Tree's Core!
We've confirmed that the Groll-warding Stone is working to protect the Dream Tree and the town of Roytale. But just when I thought that meant we were out of the woods, I suddenly remembered … there are three other Dream Cores! We need to go and protect those too!
Anti-Groll Measures 2
We’ve used a Groll-warding Stone to protect one Dream Core. Now there’s only two more to go!
We’ve protected the second Dream Core with a Groll-warding Stone. We’d better get to the last one before the Groll can attack it!
All the Dream Cores are protected with the Groll-warding Stones now. Hopefully this will pretty much put an end to the Groll problem. Now we need to head back and let Plachta know.
Elvira’s Powers
When we returned to the town, we learned that Elvira cured all of the residents who were possessed by Groll. She sure is one powerful goddess! As for us, Plachta asked us to turn right back around and go inspect a brand new region. It's to the northeast of town, beyond the volcano!
We arrived at a place where light was coming out from the ground and when we came close to it we were instantly transported to the mountain beyond the volcano. Is this what Elvira meant when she said we'd be pleasantly surprised? Well, I guess we'll just have to keep moving!
The Desert
The new area Elvira created turned out to be a sprawling desert. Still, we accepted the task, so it's too late to back out now … I guess we'll just have to see how far it stretches on.
As we were crossing the desert, some Groll appeared in front of us. How could they already be in an area that's only just been completed … We've got to defeat them before they get a chance to eat anyone's dreams!
We bumped into an invisible wall in the middle of the desert. Maybe this is the edge of the world? There doesn’t seem to be anything else we can investigate here, so we should go back and report to Plachta.

Bestiary notes