Part 23: The A-Team.

Ugh, I'm starting to really hate the way I have my classes scheduled I had to stay here for a long time to wait for the computer lab with the MIDI open up so I could work on some homework, and decided to bring Azure Dreams with me so I wouldn't get behind on an update again, or bored for that matter. Anyway, now begins our typical pattern of going around town checking up on all of our lovely ladies.


: Glad to see ya. Recently I get this feeling when I see your face.
: Stop it, that's gross. || Stop it, that's embarrassing.
Once again, I show to you the great wonder that is the illusion of choice.
: Well, well, well. Even you can get shy sometimes.
Now even Nico is getting cryptic. This strikes me as odd because normally she seems pretty straightforward. Anyway, onto Selfi…


Yeah, I don't know if I mentioned this, but every once in a while, the character's picture will blink. Normally my timing is pretty good, but it looks like I failed on this one.
: Listen! I will find out about your mystery myself.
: I don't have any mystery. || That's impossible.
: I've nothing to hide, you know. (What?) You are the most interesting person for me right now.
Alright…I really hope I move past this stage with Selfi, it's starting to get on my nerves. I want to beat up Ghosh again, dammit!


And now we talk to the creepy nun-librarian girl to see if I can get her to take these bugs off me.
…although now that I think about it, that would be really useful to have in the Tower. Think about it, you can only give orders to your monsters when they are either in the same room as you or within about 4-5 squares of you. If you could plant those bugs on them, you could constantly be in communication with your monsters and micromanage their every action no matter how far away they are. Anyway, enough of this tangent, creepy nun-librarian.
: Umm… Ahh… I can't think of anything to talk about.
: I'm not forcing you to speak. || You're usually talkative.
: Ask me anything regarding novels, cartoons or animation. Even topics on pictures and eavesdropping. But when it comes to topics that girls are likely to talk about…
Hmm, this conversation again. Clearly asking about the bugs was the wrong thing to do. Let's mix things up and see how things play out.
: Animation? Eavesdropping? || Talk what you want to.
: !!!! You look like a prince on a white horse, Mamoru.
And on that note, it's time to bilk it out of here. Time to flee to the restaurant.


: My father has gone off on a trip to the city of Haruka to stock up on food.
Dammit! I need a place to hide, help me Patty! And again, Haruka is mentioned again. Is it the closest city to Monsbaiya, and is actually respectable since Monsbaiya is populated by loud and boisterous monster hunters?
: Are you hungry, I'll make you something.
: Will you? Please! || No, don't bother.
Oh thank you Patty, you are a lifesaver!
: Let's see , what should I make.
: I'll tell you what I'd like. || Anything would be fine.
: I can't stand people who can't make up their minds.
Oopsies…the conversation loops back to Mamoru's choice.
: I'll tell you what I'd like. || Anything would be fine.


During this time, everything you get is free. If you remembered, Deep Fried Prawns is her specialty, so I get that.
: Okay, Deep Fried Prawns it is. I'm glad you chose Deep Fried Prawns. I'm pretty good at making this. Just wait a moment.
She runs off for a bit, and then comes back with the dish.
: Sorry to keep you waiting. Here you go.
: Yum, Yum, Yum. || Yum, Oh this is delicious!
: Mamoru, you eat like a gentleman. How does it taste?
: It's delicious. || It's not too good.
: Is it? Great! Cooking is really the only thing I do well… It's not as if I've got any hobbies, and I'm helping my father everyday from morning to evening... How do you feel about that, Mamoru?
: Your father is a pretty great person, Patty.
Wait a second, I didn't get a choice! Mamoru spoke on his own! NOOOOO! The Heroic Mime trope is officially broken now!
: Oh… my father…? Yes, of course! He appreciated and liked the people of this city for his great tasting cooking. Oh! I see! So you're telling me that only knowing the art of cooking is still a wonderful thing. Thank you Mamoru. I wish I could be a chef liked by everyone, just like my father…
If there is one thing Japanese culture has taught me through video games, anime and manga, is that if you work at a restaurant, you have only one goal: to be a chef. It is impossible to simply work as a waiter or waitress simply because you enjoy the job, you have to aspire to be the chef.

Anyway, I looked around town for Vivian, but couldn't find her this time, which is odd. She wasn't at the bar or the theater. So I'll skip her for today and go straight to Cherrl.


She's not on her bed…she's standing!
: See, and I feel terrific. I can't believe it. It's not a dream, is it? But if that was all they did, couldn't it have been done a long time ago? Or…did you have anything to do with it, Mamoru?
She's on to me! Crap!
: naw… it couldn't be. No, I'm just talking to myself. You know, I couldn't thank the doctor enough for healing me. And I was so moved. I mean, towards the profession of a doctor… If only I could help sick people the way a doctor can. I want to study at the doctor's place to become a nurse. What do you think, Mamoru?
: That's a great idea. || It doesn't suit you.
: Really? Do you think so?
: Yes. || Ask yourself that question.
: Then it's decided! I'm going to become an nurse.
She runs out the door (damn, she's suddenly energetic!) and goes straight to the hospital.


Doesn't seem that "repeatedly" to me, I walked straight here.
She was very insistent. I couldn't help but have her become a nurse.
: So you're happy. || Thank you doctor.
He, he, he. And what have you come for today?
Have I mentioned this guy's laugh creeps me out?
: I'm buying some medicine. || I'm injured. || I've come to see Cherrl.
: Ooh, Mamoru. Right now in my life, every single day is so much fun.
Every single day? It's only been one. Heck, LESS than one! Anyway, I actually didn't realize this until now, but the middle option of that last three-way choice allows me to claim I'm injured? I'll have to experiment with that next time. (It was a generic "I'm leaving" before, the third option was about Cherrl's health.)


I bring along all three monsters this time. I'm confident they can carry me through the tower if I get into a pinch, so I don't bring along a Wind Crystal. I think this is a pretty good team.

Mamoru, the leader. Of course, if Mamoru falls, it's all over and my inventory goes straight to be sacrificed to the RNG. But Mamoru also gets all the roles in a way. With some good equipment, Mamoru can tank for the group, and I'm pretty sure Mamoru heals HP faster than familiars. The high HP gains don't hurt either. Having access to the inventory allows Mamoru to heal familiars by tossing an herb or Pita fruit their way, and the spell orbs are always helpful in a pinch.


The heavy fire-power. Of the three, Joe has the highest damage potential since Sled is already at a very high level and is only going to get higher from here. Flame Sword is Joe's only practical option, since Heat Wave isn't going to level up. Sled can be devastating, but will be costly for MP. If I get the chance, I'm going to give Joe a physical Trait, probably from an Arachne or Block; maybe Picket.


Taking care of all the shockingly unique situations. Thunder Wave is going to be a powerful resource, allowing me to do good amounts of damage from all the way across a room with a relatively low MP impact. The Snowman is even a decent monster to bring into melee situations. But where Calvin really shines is Thunder Blade, allowing me to paralyze any enemy INSTANTLY, and deal a little bit of damage on the side. I can now take down powerful enemies without taking a hit.


The cool-minded healer to back us up. DeHeal is a blessing, and the Nyeul's natural ability to restore insane amounts of MP with every single Herb and Seed will keep this monster going the entire time. Blizzard Sword isn't anything to ignore either, it's still a good basic attack. But DeRock will absolutely save my life should I ever encounter a Monster Den again…let's just hope I can keep a monster with me next time that happens.

It's time to go kick some ass.

Floor 1


As per usual, the first floor is pretty boring. The only thing worth mentioning is this Life Wand, which I'll equip once I bring out a monster. All three are built for Mixture Magic at the moment, which is fine considering their low level, but I am going to need to get some physical traits on them eventually. Fortunately, the really good ones like the Arachne's trait to double attack or the Block's trait to double defense will double those stats at fusion. (At least that's what all the guides I keep reading say, I'm honestly a little nervous about this.) Considering my luck with eggs, I'm not concerned.

Floor 2


Once again, there is nothing here…


Wait, what?


FUUUUUUUUCK!


Bad screenshot here. Mamoru trips and the U-Boat glides right over, then turns around to face Mamoru. Fuck, this U-Boat is going to murder me.

Then, all of the sudden…a ray of hope descends.




















The U-Boat Rushes forward to attack Selfi. She casts a fireball right in time, sending it backward and leaving it to burn away to ashes. Holy shit. I want to learn magic!


: How about you, Selfi? || It's alright.
: I'm OK. Just surprised a bit.
But she seems to be injured by the U-Boat. It's just a flesh wound though, a few turns of doing nothing will take care of that. Quickly she stands up.
: Phew. But come to think of it, why do I jepordice my life for Mamoru? That's pretty stupid. When I realized Mamoru was in trouble, I couldn't help myself… What's wrong with me?
Like usual, she runs off. Clearly I'm not the mystery here, she is. How the hell was she able to one-shot a U-Boat but not a freaking Pulunpa?

Floor 3


Ugh, I wanted a Red or Blue sand, not this! White sand is useless, especially when you don't have an orb to enchant. And yet all I seem to find lately is it.

Floor 4


Huh, one already? I was kinda hoping I'd have to go a little further.


It amuses me how being Blind is probably the most devastating status effect to a monster (because it will always last a certain number of turns, as opposed to paralysis or sleep) and yet it hardly affects Mamoru, because the game zooms in on each attack, so you can tell from what angle you're being attacked.


After having to leave last time because of poison, I actually really appreciate finding this. Besides, if all else fails, Seuss will love it.

Floor 5


Sweet, as if I needed Flame Sword to get any more powerful.


Oh please...


I came prepared.

Floor 6


I bring out Calvin and put on the Life wand. Although Baloons still stalk floor 5, the Blumes and Manoevas justify bringing out something to beat them. Besides, Baloons aren't that tough and I can just paralyze them.


I notice something odd about Thunder Wave. Heat Wave always hit twice at melee range, but it's not the case for Thunder Wave. Thunder Wave always hits once, and also doesn't activate the life-restoration aspect of the Life Wand.


Fortunately for me, Thunder Blade does, not that it matters. Hell, I'd be happy to have a Mixture magic that did nothing but paralysis.


Sweeet. This goes on immediately. I don't need the Life Wand if it won't heal me when I attack for massive damage across the room.

Floor 7


Goodie, one to get home and one to take home.


This situation is a bit interesting. Fortunately, I can just paralyze the Baloon, the U-Boat moves out, attacks, and I paralyze it.


Calvin's MP really shot down when I brought it out, probably because of the low power of the mixture-magics and they are a little costly. I would appreciate finding a Cyclone to help out with the MP loss for the future.

Floor 8


On this floor we start running into Clowns, and like I said, Calvin's MP was pretty much gone already. The Blumes will be a problem, and the U-Boats too since they'll always get one hit on me. I put on the Scarlet wand, and it's time to kill.


Not bad for a type disadvantage at this level. Not bad at all. That Manoeva went down in one hit.


Sweet, this room is full of good stuff.


But a Manoeva interferes and I decide to test out Heat Wave a little. I confirm that it does two hits like it should at melee range, but the second hit (that isn't mentioned in the text box) only does 3 damage when the first hit does 8. I have no idea why this is.


I barely even looted the room!
:

Floor 9


I also found a Gold Sword in that room I never got to loot, but never put it in because my bag was already full. This makes me feel slightly better.


I find an herb I can't make room for, so I bring out Calvin for a moment to feed it to him.


Oh, and I finally cast sled to see how much damage it can---141!? Seriously? Holy shit! That's a lot, and ONLY around lv. 70 right now. Imagine what it'll be like at lv. 99.

Floor 10


I'm giving all the monsters some love this time. Not to mention the Trolls and Volcanos on this floor can really get on your nerves. This is a good floor for Water monsters. On goes the Life Wand.


I wondered what to do with this seed. I figured whenever I get a stat boosting item, I'll give it to whatever monster I have out. Seems fairest since they could all use it eventually. A little ATK will help if I suddenly get paralyzed or fall asleep.


Oh, this Snow Shoot did 103 to that Troll there. Like I said before, it seems to be "full" elemental instead of "half" elemental like Blizzard Sword, so it will do more damage if it gets a type advantage.


Wh-What? I have no idea what happened here. This is right after that Snow Shoot. There was a Clown next to me in the room at the same time, and what I THINK happened was that I was actually aiming for Seuss when I attacked (whom was standing right next to the Clown). So I think somehow Snow Shoot decided that Seuss was a valid target, and it got hit full blast by the over-powered spell.
I'll be more careful from now on. This was totally unexpected.


It's surprisingly hard to time a good screenshot of LoDown, but I figured this would work good. Yes, it reflected off my Mirror Shield.
Anyway, Joe finishes up the floor for me because there are a few Wind monsters on this floor too; Calvin would just get eaten up.

Floor 11


...sometimes I really question the intelligence of the AI.


I find a room with lots of loot, and my first orbs of the trip. It's a Poison and Ice Rock orb, neither are really good. I boost the Ice Rock orb because I'm pretty sure it sells for more, and each charge gives adds +10% of the base price. If you use a White Sand on a Pillar orb, you get more money in return than if you sold the White Sand. But I enchant the orb anyways to carry other loot.


What a great time to take a nap, Joe! I put Joe back in the bag and pull out Calvin.


I start pulling off a trick I'm going to call "Paralyze Dancing" from now on. It's pretty simple. When ambushed by two monsters, you paralyze one, then the other. Since Paralysis lasts for about 1-3 turns (it's random), you have to be careful and try to step away when both are paralyzed. By paralyze dancing, you can effectively minimize your damage from all enemies.


When one falls, it's much easier, you just beat up the last one like normal. Problem is, Calvin runs out of MP right here. But the Griffon took enough damage, so I take it out before using a wind crystal. My shield is too weak to solo here. I REALLY need some Blue Sand.

END OF DAY! KILL COUNT FOR THE DAY!

: 20 Pulunpas, 11 Noises, 18 Trolls (Hammer), 21 Flames, 24 Cyclones, 13 Baloons, 5 Manoevas, 5 Manoeva Clones, 1 Clown, 2 Griffons. 120 KILLS TOTAL

: 1 Clown. 1 KILL TOTAL
Heat Wave assists: 1 Clown. 1 KILL TOTAL
Flame Sword assists: 3 Manoevas, 6 Blumes, 6 U-Boats, 16 Clowns, 9 Dreamin, 7 Volcanoes, 8 Trolls (Bow). 55 KILL-ASSISTS TOTAL

: No Direct Kills.
Thunder Blade assists: 3 Baloons, 1 Blume. 4 KILL-ASSISTS TOTAL
Thunder Wave assists: 2 Cyclones, 7 Baloons, 12 Manoevas, 1 Manoeva Clone, 9 Blumes, 1 U-Boat, 1 Dreamin, 1 Volcano, 1 Troll (Bow). 35 KILL-ASSISTS TOTAL

: No Direct Kills
Blizzard Sword assists: 1 Dreamin, 2 Volcanoes, 2 Trolls (Bow). 5 KILL ASISSTS TOTAL
Snow Shoot assists: 2 Clowns, 2 Trolls, 1 Suess (?) 5 KILL-ASSISTS TOTAL
Defeated by...itself? What?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


For some reason, Nurse Cherrl wakes us up.
: There, open your eyes, and sit upright. There, well done. Good morning, Mamoru. Wow, your hair's standing on end, well, as always I guess.
I burst out laughing when I read this. Every time I show a picture of Koh/Mamoru to my friends when I tell them about this game, they freak out and go OMG ANIME HAIR! Bit of an inside joke for me, I suppose.


I don't remember what floor I found this on, but I think it was one of the metal floors, so probably 8 or 9. Either way, we have a Blume now. Give it a name. (Why didn't I take a screenshot of it? I got like three times as many screenshots anyway...)

Oh, and as we leave the bedroom, Cherrl talks to us again. Unlike Fur, who sticks around, Cherrl leaves right away.
: As you know, this city has many hunters. You never know when someone's going to get injured and run to the hospital. You've got to be alert 24 hours a day. So there's no time, day or night, that I can actually rest. The doctor tells me it's a pleasure having me as a nurse. I feel great pride in my work.
And I can't help but feel great pride in her as well. Already walking around with more energy than Mamoru, and how many days ago did she get that Healing Herb?
: You're going to work today? || Did you get a day off today?
: I told Dr. Hush that I was coming here to see you, Mamoru. So there's nothing to worry about.


: I'm uneasy about the way he looked at me, so I'm going right back to the hospital. See you later, Mamoru.
I can't remember which LP I was reading, I think it might have even been mine, but I couldn't find it when I looked back to see it, but one of the goons posted a nice animated GIF of someone taking a drink of water and then suddenly spitting it out on someone right in front of them. If I had a cup of water with me, that would have happened to my computer monitor. That man has a dirty mind. I knew something about him really bothered me.


Typical, time to sell some loot. Glad she's really enjoying the Octopus Dumplings I seem to have gotten her addicted to.


Sweet, that Gold Sword I got was cursed, so it sells for a ton more! Having a two cursed Iron shields doesn't hurt either (one is on the next page.) The loot sells for $9135, and we're at $73,959 total. Only about $26,000 more to go before we can build the Megachurchcasino.

All in all, I think I like the way this is looking. I'm seriously going to need a good shield if I want to climb higher though, so I can get a little bit farther without relying on monster assistance. I can always pull out Seuss in a pinch though. Of the three monsters, Seuss is definitely the most powerful because of that near-infinite MP, so who knows how far I'll get next time.
Either way, things are looking good. Oh yeah, name the Blume!