Part 40: Chapter Forty: Treasure of the Rudras

: Hey, princess. Now that you’ve finally made yourself useful, there’s somewhere we need to go before we pay Zog a house call.

: And where is that, oh great and powerful sorceress?

: Just follow my directions and we’ll get there, sweetheart.



: The temple we saw earlier?

: Yes, this is our next stop. You need to be more powerful before you face Zog. With luck the Dragon Priest should let you in.





: Welcome, heir to the Light Dragons. We have been expecting you. Ah, I see that you have the DragonAR. You are truly your ancestor’s descendant.

As before, the Dragon Priest won’t let the player in unless he has the requisite piece of Dragon equipment.



: So I must go alone again…

: Yes. Go forth and claim your birthright.



As usual, the area beyond has a chest with a healing item and a healing fountain.





The next solo boss is Avian. Avian has no gimmicks – he just hits hard and has a lot of HP. It is very important to find the DragonSH before challenging him, since it cuts around 20 – 30 damage off of all his attacks. Regardless Avian still hits like a truck, dealing at least 50 damage per hit even with the best possible armor at this point. The best strategy is to attack until Ryu’s HP is low, then transform into the thunder dragon and take advantage of its free HP refill to continue attacking. After that it’s just a matter of attacking and healing as necessary.

(Video – Avian)



: Your training is complete!





: Use your powers to restore peace to the world.



: Use your powers wisely!



: I’m back. I defeated the trial and received the power of the Dragon.

: So you did. You have obtained the power of Rudra, and with it the potential to defeat Zog.

: Congratulations, Ryu!

: Well done, fearless leader!

: Thank you. Let’s not waste any time – we should go to Scande at once and put an end to all this.

I’ll be showing off Ryu’s Rudra transformation at a later date – there’s an upcoming boss battle that’s thematically appropriate for it.



: Oh, before that…I would just like to visit Carmen again. I believe I owe the doctor there my thanks.

: That’s fine by me. Let’s go.



: I owe you no small amount of gratitude for your help, doctor.

: Oh, it was no trouble at all.



: Come and see me if you can’t remember who you are.

: I should hope that never happens, but if so, I am sure I can count on you to help fix matters.



: Hey. Light Dragon. Over here.

: Huh?

: Behind the house.



: I’ll only say this once.





: He vanished!

: Hmm…



: What’s this? It looks like some sort of official document.

: Oh! That’s a pass to get into Scande!

: A pass?

: Yes! Getting into Scande isn’t easy. If you don’t have a pass, the guards will turn you away. With this, we won’t have to fight our way in! We can infiltrate the citadel without any trouble!

: It seems our mysterious friends want Zog out of the way just as much as we do. Let’s press the advantage and head on to Scande!



: There it is – Zog’s fortress.

: It’s been a long journey, but we’re finally here. I can defeat Zog…and rescue my sister.





: Hmm…Ah, so you’re the elevator repairmen we’ve been waiting for. I must say, you made excellent time. You look a bit scruffy, but…





: Where to now, Mogu?

: Zog lives at the top of the tower. Below us are the slave quarters where the laborers live. We used to live down there too, but we managed to dig an escape tunnel and get out.

:…Wait. The guards implied the elevator here is broken.



: Argh, we’re so close! Is there some way we could climb the tower without the elevator?

This is the first of two utterly inane and pointless mandatory filler quests the game throws at you towards the end.

The mystery leads into a very annoying sidequest to repair the elevator parts. It adds nothing to the story and is simply pointless filler, so I’ll summarize it here and skip the rest. Some of the elevator parts are missing. You can talk to a man around the corner who tells you that a guy from Spring once climbed the tower on his own. There’s also another Mysterious Cloaked Man in Scande’s Inn who tells you pretty much the same thing. You go to Spring, find the climber, he gives you the missing parts. You’d think the quest would end there, right? Oh no. The parts are broken. How do you fix them? Why, you go to Gant. A smith in Gant fixes the parts, you come back and put the parts in and the elevator works again.



: You’re pretty good with machinery, Ox.

:…It was nothing. Rearranging something like this takes no time at all.







: This tower certainly is high.

: Heh, maybe Zog’s compensating for something…

: It is good to know that we can always rely on you to lower the tone, Karn.

: You know me too well, lady!







: Here we are. This is it – the final challenge.

: We’re all ready.

: Then let’s go!

Music: 34 – Zog’s Lair



: Another cloaked figure…



: That’s right. But why have your group been helping us? What’s in it for you?



: Before that, though, wouldn’t you like to be completely certain of your victory here? If so, I have a suggestion for you…



: Even Zog would be badly hurt if he heard it.

:…

: Ryu? Should we press on?

:…No. Even though it’s another delay, we’ll be needing every possible advantage once we confront Zog. We return to Tunlan at once.

: Here is the address of the one who possesses the D.Hrt. I eagerly await your success in this matter.

The Mysterious Robed Figure will continue to block our path until we acquire the D.Hrt, so we have to go back to Tunlan and get it.





: Excuse me. I have heard from a…a friend, that you are in possession of a powerful anti-dragon weapon.





Music: 47 – Heart



: This…this…melody…hurts…

: Are you alright, Ryu?!

: I’m…I’m fine.





: Yes…yes, thank you.



It should be noted that, since he too is a dragon, Ryu was knocked down to 1 HP by the song. The same thing happens if it is used in battle, so it’s going to be a double-edged sword when the time comes to unleash it. In any case, next update will feature the climactic battle we’ve all been waiting for – it’s time for Ryu to face Zog and put an end to things.