Part 27: Frozen Sky, Scorched Earth

Just one more dungeon left for the Ayuta/Mana team... This episode contains a lot more Piu-Piu than we've been seeing of him lately (he didn't have much new to say really), but trust me, it's worth it.



So yeah, let's go shopping.



Not really the question I'd ask, but...











What's happening.









Uh, shopping it is then.



Gamma knife is actually a kind of a surgical procedure used to treat brain tumours (note, no actual knife is involved in it). Of course, not going to buy it.

Also if you're waiting for this episode to get less weird, I'll tell you now: not going to happen.



And here is an even better named weapon for Mana. Since it's weaker, not buying it either.



Clothes for Ayuta. As you can see we have reached that stage in the game where characters receive paired up named items which are only distinguished by the fact that they have their first initial or name appended. Thus, clothes marked with (A) are for Ayuta...



...and of course, those marked with (S) are for Mana. Wait, what?

Well, never mind, let's see how Olgar and Vahti are doing. Hostile, I'd bet.









What!?
How dare you humiliate him!
Hey, I'm not humiliating anybody. I'm just telling it like it is.
...!
Then why don't we see who's truly weak right here, right now!
Please stop it! There's no way Piu-Piu can fight you!
I'm afraid you're wrong there. This thing is hiding far more power than you can realise. Even more than the Agent.
Are you serious? How could a marshmallow like him have that kind of power?
...
Look at that oversized head! That non-existent waist! Those tiny legs!
Why, he can't be any more powerful than a baby Lesser Panda.
...
...
I'm sure that even his filthy mouth is just a way to compensate for his total lack of ability...!
Please, just let it go!
I'm sorry, I apologise. Please don't defend me any more...
Mana, you are very kind.
I can't fight him. He's already been soundly defeated.

Like I said, it's not gonna get less weird.



But we do have a dungeon and (oh joy!) four puzzles awaiting us.





Almost immediately after stepping in, we find another set of clothes for Mana...



...but they again have the wrong initial. Oh well, it's an improvement regardless.



In this dungeon, puzzles are quite simple ones where we need to put blocks on switches by swapping our position with them.



This is the second one. They are all super-easy.



After a bit more wandering, here is the first boss.



Bye bye!



Exiting the dungeon does not cause any major events to happen, so we can simply step into the second half.



Here we find a nice accessory.



Again, I give it to Mana.



In this part of dungeon, we need to solve the puzzles to extinguish the fire blocking the path.



Like this.



Final puzzle...



...and the road is open!



But what's this? Vahti and Olgar are already fighting the boss!









Rings glowing... is that the proof?
Ayuta! I see you still haven't gotten your proof! Why do you continue to bore me?
...I couldn't care less about your boredom.
Couldn't care less? Couldn't care less!?
THEN I'LL MAKE YOU CARE!
Vahti, I'm not waiting any longer! Memory loss or not, I'm doing this now!!
I see you've made up your mind. Fine then, I won't stop you.
Ayuta! Draw your sword! Let's have some fun!
Free me from this dreary world!



Aaaand... it's a fight with Olgar!

Not really. It automatically ends after only one turn.









I can't lose. No matter what happens, I can't lose!
That's the spirit!



Careful with that axe, Olgar! I think it's safer to point it up at the sky.









The executioner has come for Olgar... probably?



He is dispatched away!

















What do you mean, "the last time"?
Why, the last Ark Arena, of course.
The last...?
If you can't remember, I'll tell you. Vahti and I won the last Ark Arena.
That's the memory Ayuta lost?
After we defeated you, we went on to win the Arena itself.
Wait... that would mean...
Olgar and Vahti... are last tournament's champions...
Now, come on, Ayuta! I know you've still got some fight in you!











































And Olgar and Vahti leave.

Well then. That was fun.



Incidentally, since they already defeated the boss, we don't need to fight it. Seriously, there is no boss fight, we can really just leave the dungeon now.

* * *

On another note, in a very cool touch, the game now changes all references in UI from Mana to Shea, so here is what the status screen looks like:



But there is a surprise waiting if we switch the game over to Japanese language:



So her name in Japanese version is not Shea, but Yae (ヤエ). This is in a way particularly annoying because the game contains voiced dialogue in Japanese only, so you will constantly be hearing one name and seeing another in the subtitles.

More interesting question is, does this name mean anything. Well, I'm glad you asked. Up there on the screen the name is actually spelled out phonetically, so I can't be completely sure this was intended, but the most common word with this pronunciation is 八重, which means... "doubled"! More generally, it means "multi-layered", but it is very often used in the more narrow meaning of "double-layered" or "doubled". So there it is. This wordplay is kind of wasted, because you don't get to see this name until after you already know about the switch, but what can you do.

In case you are wondering, the weapons marked with (S) in English version are marked with a simple (Y) in the Japanese version, so you really don't learn the full name until after it doesn't matter any more.