Chaos Rings Part #18

Part 18: Purgatory

We have one more last dungeon to go through this time with Eluca and Zhamo.

Escher and Musiea are over here, but of course first we will sort out the equipment...

I'll tell you why. The bikini is a mark of a true man; the garb of gods!

Hey, you wanna try it on? Go ahead, it'll look good on you!

Wow... the garb of gods, right here in front of me...

I told you not to take this idiot seriously.

Come on, you're a man, you know what I'm talking about.

When you look at the history of timespace, it is obvious that bikini is the holy grail of clothing that men have been searching for!

Inside these few pieces of material lie the hopes and dreams of humanity.

So, Eluca, that's why you have to give me your breastplate.

Fine. If you really want it, it's yours.

Whoa, really?

In exchange for your head.

Hmm. Eluca's breastplate, or my head... Hmm...

...You actually have to think about it?

Oookay.

New weapons. No new clothes as we already have better from last time and they don't have cool names either, so...

And two new accessories.

So let's talk to our competitors. For the more sensitive among us, be warned that this conversation goes way into the T.M.I. territory! Actually, don't skip it because it contains some plot-related explanations (maybe).

...Huh?

Do you realise that none of us have needed to go to the bathroom even once since we came here?

At first, I thought it was just because of nerves...

But apparently it's not. Nature simply doesn't call here.

What's going on? Where did you route that call?

...

Now now, calm down, Escher.

The truth is, the time you are experiencing here is different from the time you experience normally.

Here, your powers of concentration have been pushed to their limits, which also serves to compress the time itself.

You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes when you die?

Well, here the same level of concentration is being maintained artificially.

So our concentration is being pushed to its limit even now?

That's right. That's why you have been able to grow and develop so quickly.

So that's why we've been growing so strong the more we fight here...

...In other words, we haven't actually been here long enough to have to go to the bathroom yet.

Nice going, little guy.

Well, I can't really take all the credit... but I'll be happy to anyway!

...

That's a relief. Now we can move on without worrying about it,

And Musiea really can't leave the well enough alone and has to get in one last line just when we thought the worst part of this conversation is over.

Oh well, to the dungeon it is then.

Coincidentally, it's again Purgatory that's the last on the menu.

At first, I was not feeling adventurous so I keep the level same as before.

And here we are.

Around the corner, Escher and Musiea are defeating a monster.

It would seem that they did not defeat Olgar and Vahti merely with good luck.

They did not get along at all when we first got here.

(I guess they cleared up their misunderstanding.)

At this point I realise that I forgot to buy some keys to open locked chests, so I exit the dungeon.

But then this happens:

...Your father was right in what he did.

Huh?

The Divine King did nothing to help his subjects, only to hurt them.

That is the truth.

And yet, as his servant... I cannot turn my back on his orders.

...If we hadn't been brought here, you would have executed me too, right?

...Yeah.

But you didn't. Instead we're here and I've been chosen as a warrior.

Eluca... I'm going to win this tournament, go back home, and carry on my father's work.

(Carry on his fathers...?)

Go to sleep. Tomorrow's another early morning.

And here we are. I'm pretty sure that if you don't exit the dungeon on purpose, this scene will simply not happen at all and you will not even get to see it, even though it does contribute to the character backgrounds quite a bit.

After purchasing the keys, we go back in, but really we can handle the stronger enemies, so why the heck not.

And just as we go in, there is a chest with a new weapon for Eluca!

Around the corner is the first puzzle. These ones are kind of stupid. Use the candlestick to make blocks near them appear and disappear and collect all gems. It gets a bit annoying when there is more than one candlestick and it's not clear which blocks "belong" to which.

As always, this gives us the first of two items that we need in order to be able to unlock the boss.

And then the second puzzle...

...gives us the second item.

So we can go here and...

...fight the boss.

This time I decide to have some fun by using the Divine Fist skill, which guarantees a critical attack, but at the cost of having to go last in a turn. This is not a problem at all, and it only takes two of these until we are done with the boss.

But, Zhamo's spear is broken!

I'm going to repair your spear. Could you leave me alone for a while?

Sure, but...

It's okay. I'm used to this.

Musiea is outside...

Yeah. You've been fighting so hard.

What about you, Musiea?

Escher said he wants to rest by himself for a while.

He's... never mind.

...Can I ask you something?

What is it?

Why did Escher choose you to be his partner?

Huh?

I-I'm sorry. That was very impolite of me.

I... I have no idea what he thinks, about anything. So why did you choose Eluca?

I, uh...

Is there a special reason?

N-no, not quite a reason...

Well, if you have any idea, I'd love to hear it.

Eluca was my idol. I loved watching her practice.

When she takes up those blades, she looks so strong and amazing...

Uh-huh. So that's why you two are together.

What do you mean?

She's your first love.

F-first love? N-no way, it's not like that!

Sometimes, you are not even aware you've fallen in love...

Whether she's your first love or not, she's clearly important to you.

Be sure to take good care of her.

Me, take care of her...? I couldn't do that. Eluca is much stronger than I could hope to be...

It doesn't matter how good you are with a sword. I know I'm going to whatever I can to help Escher. He can be rough, but he's also very kind.

Eluca reappears from the room.

Zhamo, no matter what happens to us, let's both do our best to help those we care about.

And he is up too, now we are complete.

Eluca, don't be afraid to face Zhamo directly. It's probably the only way to get through this. I know it was for us.

Oh, Zhamo, you're looking a little red there. Do you have hots for Musiea or something?

Ok well enough of that. Going back to the dungeon now.

As before, we need to collect three items to unlock this teleporter.

First one is in the chest over here.

Oh hey, it's this guy again! Defeating him nets us two levels each. Also we get a skill called "Happy Smile". When equipped, this skill gives you 1 EXP for every step you make while moving around. At our level, this is not a whole lot any more, so we won't be using it much at this time.

The first puzzle gives us the second item.

And the second puzzle opens way to the chest containing the last item.

So we can unlock the way forward...

...and go to the the boss. I forgot to mention this last time, but this guy's name is, interestingly enough, "Prototype Agent". You might recall that his superboss equivalent is called "Libido". Both of these are important for the plot.