Part 57: A World Done For

Like they did before with Mana/Shea, here too, the game now switches all menus and everything else to say Olgar instead of Vieg. I'll however, keep calling him Vieg, just to avoid confusion.

















I do not think I want to know what a "hardcore" Piu-Piu is like!



















Well, that's taken care of.

Now then. Obviously, Vahti is back in our party now:



She comes back at level 32 which is a bit low for what's coming in the rest of the game, so I'll go and do some grinding to have her catch up a bit.

In the meantime, we can buy some equipment for her, actually.







As you can see, Piu-Piu actually has all tiers of equipment available for sale for her, but unless you are really short on cash (and I don't see how you possibly could be) there is no reason to buy anything but the best available. Even that loot we found in a dungeon is way behind what's for sale here right now.









Yes, and the way forward is back into that nasty place, Conglom Plant which we really didn't get to explore at all. Unfortunately the poisonous atmosphere handicap is still around.









Well, actually, before we go in... let's see what's Cyllis been up to these days.





















I am one of the ones who vowed--was determined--to do this.
And that is why I have put my faith in you, and continued to bear the Congloms all this time.
Yes. That is an essential role that you must continue to fulfill.
Theia, I am not here to talk about me. I want to find out how YOU feel.
I fail to comprehend. What is your request?
Argh! Will you please listen to me!?
I am not asking you to DO anything!
I see that it would be meaningless to continue this discussion. Please return to overseeing the production of the Congloms.
Yes... The Congloms...
My poor, pitiful children. My precious children.
You killed them.
You kept on killing them!!!
You have lost the ability to think rationally.
I am going to put a stop to all of this.
With Yorath--child of my womb, strong enough to face the Qualia.
He is the ultimate Conglom.
I secretly gathered genetic material from all of the warriors to create him, my perfect son.
But even if Yorath were to defeat the Qualia, that would not open up a path to a new future.
How can you say that!?
What makes YOUR child so special?













So I guess Cyllis is getting a bit unhinged. Oh well.



Anyway, back at the Conglom plant...



We keep going forward... You may also notice that I have acquired a new button in the top left corner of the screen, "Battle". At some point while I was grinding, I learned a "Pheromone" skill which essentially allows you to call up a random battle whenever you want. That's what this button is for. It's not super useful as walking a few steps in any direction will typically trigger a battle, but whatever.



In any case, after a just a few steps, our way forward is again blocked by what looks like a boss fight. In fact, spoiler alert, the rest of the game is pretty much one long boss gauntlet, more or less.









Nice. Let's go into a fight against...



...uh, what's happened to you Dante?



We do so-so damage to him...



...but, as mentioned, still suffer from toxic atmosphere here.



Eventually I got tired of trading blows, so I throw an elemental item at him...



...for an increase in damage output.



Anyway this is not a hard battle by any means.

















Random battles in this area are pretty crazy... STRONGER versions of former bosses show up as regular enemies:



So you really need to be a bit careful.





In one chest is the final weapon for Vieg.





The next one contains the same for Vahti.





And then the final set of clothes for Vieg.



And with this, we are finally out of this nasty place and can move on.



This time, we are going down instead of up.



The lift leads to a new area, Conglom Lab. Japanese title is a bit different, ミクスチャー製造工場 is actually "Mixture manufacturing plant" (as opposed to "Treatment plant" for the previous area). Lack of space does its thing again, I guess.



This area is not super interesting really, it only contains these blue crystals, which are again document terminals like the ones in the original game. Their content is also similar.


-------------------------------------------------
     THE AGENT

> An organically-grown lifeform programmed to
  ensure that the Ark Arena proceeds smoothly.
  Loaded with advanced A.I. to assist in
  guiding participants.
> Follows commands given by the Almighty.

Objectives:
> Guide participants to proper destination.
> Execute insubordinate participants.
> Judge participants' eligibility to open
  the Final Door.
-------------------------------------------------



-------------------------------------------------
     THE EXECUTIONER

> An organically-grown lifeform programmed to
  ensure that the Ark Arena proceeds smoothly.
> Obeys commands given by the Almighty.

Objectives:
> Execute insubordinate participants.
> Judge participants' eligibility to open
  the Final Door.
-------------------------------------------------




On the second floor, we find this chest there in the corner, but we can't get to it from here... but we do find more info terminals.


-------------------------------------------------
     IMMORTALITY

> A means of ensuring that the First Couple can continue
  to produce a predetermined amount of descendants.
> Their bodies are boosted to superhuman levels
  using the principles of transhumanism. This
  allows a greatly increased cell division rate,
  even when damage is sustained, resulting in
  automatic regeneration.
> Telomere reduction is also employed to prevent
  cells from aging.

Warning:
> These effects will likely be neutralized in the
  presence of the Qualia's energy (Quintessence).
-------------------------------------------------



-------------------------------------------------
     THE ARK

> Can travel up to 10,000 years in the past
  using the principles of spacetime navigation.
> While the first couple uses that time to
  propogate, the Ark hides inside the time
  axis, to avoid altering history.

Contents:
> Data to facilitate the recreation and
  preservation of the planet's past, and
  its historical artifacts.
> Data to facilitate the preservation of the
  planet's lifeforms (both sexes).
-------------------------------------------------




On the next floor there is a teleporter leading to those hidden chests, where we find...





The final clothes for Vahti that we've been missing...





And one copy of the final accessory. I decide to give it to Vahti for no particular reason.

Continuing onwards, a few more terminals...


-------------------------------------------------
     THE ALMIGHTY

> A system used to ensure the Ark contest
  runs smoothly.
> Test subject Theia Lieberg's cranial
  nerve is linked directly to the Ark central
  nervous system in lieu of A.I.

Objectives:
> Produce a human race capable of defeating
  the Qualia.
> Judge participant's eligility to open the Final Door.
-------------------------------------------------


And finally, one that we've all been waiting for...


-------------------------------------------------
     CYLLIS

> A system used to produce and manage Congloms
> Test subject Cyllis Mackenzie's cranial
  nerve is linked directly to the system's central
  nervous system in lieu of A.I.

Objectives:
> Deploy Congloms, created from the genetic
  material of various creatures, throughout
  the Ark, in order to accellerate the development
  of participants.
-------------------------------------------------


We keep on going for a while, and then...





Hey, Yorath, how's it going?