Part 52: They see me walk; They hear me talk; I make them feel; Like they’re on Cloud Nine

Update XVI: They see me walk; They hear me talk; I make them feel; Like they’re on Cloud Nine
Song Title Reference: Sexy Boy – By Shawn Michaels


This update is short. Very short. I basically only have a boss fight to show you as far as main content goes. The rest will be something a little bit different.



The Summer Labyrinth is complete, which means we’re moving on to Autumn. First up is Scorpio.



It’s definitely not as fancy to look at compared to Virgo. It has the colour scheme of Reone and some of the columns have that headlamp/doctor thing that that Reone wears on her head, but that’s it. The columns have a black chain hanging from them for some reason. Not sure what the connection is to Reone there.



The enemies are largely made up of the Rhino/Warthog looking types, as well as the usual Bootes variants. Other than that, Aquila types show up on some earlier floors and those ghost/skeleton looking dudes will pop up occasionally on later floors. Those floating elemental skull enemies tend to act as backup for everyone else, but they don’t seem to roam around on their own.



The difficulty level has not caught up to our Star Children, so I mostly avoided fights. We’re stomping everything that shows up, largely thanks to Chain skills that everyone has. Here’s the current flow to every battle:



Itsuki uses Blitz Blow to boost the CD gauge.



Team FlyingNeoRaiPol… Team B, let’s just stick with Team B. Team B usually gets the next turn, in which they hit with Gran Chain to boost the CD gauge more (targeting a different enemy than Itsuki did).



Team BlaMoSlaAni C then targets the third enemy with Temple Chain, which maxes the CD gauge and triggers Chain Drive on all enemies.

At this point I either mash the physical attack button until all the enemies are dead, which they always are before the Chain wears off. Or, if I’m especially bored, I have Team A(wful) MECUNITE and just dust everything at once.



It’s all about whether or not I want to bother getting any more bonus Exp. …I probably should not bother getting any more bonus Exp.



The only thing to happen in terms of equipment upgrades is that Mokino gets a Light Ninja Garb, which is ever so slightly better than the Wind Clothes+ he had been using.

Most of the other equipment pickups in this dungeon are specifically for Sorcerers, Clerics, and Grapplers (of which we have none on the team). We snagged various types of Claw weapons, but none of those were better than the Storm/Death Talons that our Ninjas already have.



Let’s just end it. I’m not even sure why I’m trying to drag this out.



It’s a big-ass scorpion. I think this is tied with Cancer as being the most obvious boss design, although I don’t think we’ve seen Pisces yet.





Oh, you poor bastard.



We all know how this is going to go down. Dark offence element might be fairly effective against our teams, but Dark defence doesn’t stand a chance.

In case you end up fighting Criminatores without the use of devastating Light magic, like we have, then here’s a look at its stat sheet. The stats are pretty evenly spread out, except for the noticeable spike in physical defence. If you have been relying on physically oriented teams, then this is probably not going to go well for you. As Mana said, Criminatores is able to cause Poison, so even if you have great defence, you won’t really have the time to spend chipping away at the boss little by little. This is not the time for a turtle strategy.



Also there are two Crater D enemies here. As usual, deal with them first. Dark enemies are not ones that you want hovering around. Well, unless every one of your teams has Light element defence I guess. Even then, they will still probably be a danger to Itsuki, so it’s best to just clear them out.



Criminatores’ attack is decent. It doesn’t look like much in this screenshot, but that’s because Team A(wful) has Light element as their defence. Team C gets hit later on and takes about 2100, which is still not something to worry about, but it is slightly more dangerous at least.



Unfortunately for Criminatores, its dungeon didn’t come along until after we formed the final teams for the game. Dark Element used to be scary, but now everybody has the Photon Driver team skill, sooo…











Goodbye, Criminatores!



We get some experience, some of the Star Children snag a level and break into the 50’s, and we also score 2 Knowledge Fruits (which I actually give to Isabel because Itsuki doesn’t really use Magic).



Then we seal the big screw in the ground and go home.



So, what now? Well first of all I’ll mention that those exclamation points you see in the screenshot are all a load of nothing worth talking about. Day Camp is just informing me that some Star Children I dropped off ages ago have finished their training regime. The Tavern is for turning in that boss we just killed. Finally, the shop just updated their selection with shit that’s been outdated since 2 dungeons ago instead of 3.

I’ve shown off just about everything I can think of in terms of random side content. Everything that would be slightly interesting to see anyway. The only thing of substance I could do is show off some generic Maiden events, but we’ve been through enough events lately as it is.



That said, I do want to use this opportunity to show off Alfie’s generic bonding events. Alfie was left out of all the side events in this game, because her inclusion seems to have been done as cheaply as possible. The developers were nice enough to throw her a few generic bonding events though (probably because they had to have something to show when the player selected her at the Academy and her route wasn’t ready to move forward yet).

So let’s have a look at Alfie’s three generic events, because Alfie fans deserve at least something after being left out in the cold during the Autumn Festival, and Flower Viewing, and Beach, and Starmas, and also the final side-events update that will be happening in the future.



I should note that “Beyond the Goodbyes” isn’t actually a generic event. “Beyond the Goodbyes” is the event that plays after Alfie dies. It’s the one where Itsuki goes to the church and prays to her Matryoshka, which has to be seen 3 times in order to revive her.


Generic Alfie Event 1: For Tomorrow
~Day Camp~



Also, because these are generic events, you’ll notice that Alfie is wearing earrings. Gift Accessories are only worn by the Star Maidens during generic events.

All right! Now cool down and stretch! Relax your body while you rest!

Looks like Alfie is as stern as always.

Oh, Itsuki. Hello there! The Star Children are all in tip-top condition!

Good for them! …You did tell them that I won’t actually be needing any of them anymore, right? There are no more openings on the dungeon express for the rest of this game. I just want to be clear on that.

Are you always this hard on them during training?

Oh, yes!



Oh, well I guess I should have expected that from you. Well, as long as there’s love and passion in it then… I guess I should tell you to make sure you keep it up.

Yes! I intend to! It’s easy to spoil the Star Children, but that wouldn’t be to their benefit. I hope that, even if it’ [sic] is tougher for them now, they can grow to learn and build confidence. That’s all I think about when I train them!

Good thing Alfie is handling this. Itsuki seems like the type that would cave immediately if the Star Children looked at him with big ol’ puppy dog eyes. He’d spoil the shit out of them.

Right… Sorry I interrupted you, Alfie. You’re a lot better at this than I would ever be. You take so much into consideration when training them.



Just… well, promise not to overdo it. Okay?

Hehe, thanks. I feel much better just hearing that! Oh, that’s right…



I was on my way to get some disinfectant, so I have to get going now! I’ll see you later!

*And Alfie darts off to go fix a boo-boo*

She’s really serious about her job… I feel like she might be overworking herself sometimes, though. I’ll have to keep an eye on her.


Generic Alfie Event 2: Heart-Throbbing Questions
~Day Camp~

Hmm…



Exposing everything we hold inside is said to lead to friendship and love…

Hey, Alfie. Are you taking your break?

Oh, Itsuki! I actually wanted to talk to you about something.



Phrasing… kind of.

Uhhh…. W-What are we talking about exactly? What do you mean by “expose”?

U-Um… That would be… our more… shameful parts…



I’ll answer with full honesty! This is to deepen our bond!

Oh… oh! That’s what you meant! The way you said that was really making me nervous. Well, if that’s all you mean, then let me think…



We’ve got three options, none of which stand out as being obviously “good”. “How old are you?” and “How big are your boobs?” are never good questions to ask a lady.

However, I believe the worst option here is actually “Nothing comes to mind.” Alfie doesn’t like us trying to dodge her like that. The neutral answer is “What’s your bust size?”, to which Alfie just answers that she doesn’t know, but she could probably get Reone/Mirei to check for her. Itsuki then backs off on the question because he’s a shy boy (sometimes).

Well… how about your age? How old are you, exactly?

Well…



That figures…

Yup! People shape their hopes and dreams at that age!

Do they? I don’t remember a lot from when I was 16, but I’m pretty damn sure I wasn’t shaping my hopes and dreams. Pretty sure I was busy being an emo teen that was counting the days until graduation so I could be free of the waking nightmare that was High School.

But you said that you were created 30 years ago. You have to be at least that old.

Hehe… Sorry.



It sounds like something an idol from Sora would say.

They do say that! Usually when they are hitting 20 and realizing that their “expiry date” is one or two years away, but they still have that faint hope that their fans won’t abandon them for younger girls. This quickly gives way to melancholic acceptance and an attempt to spin off into a new career while they’ve still got some popularity to leverage.

I need to stop doing that.

Whew… Is this how we’re supposed to deepen our bonds? How do you do it with the other Star Maidens?

I’ll be honest, it’s not much different than this. We mostly just talk.

I see… So communicating is what’s important.



What do you mean?

Oh, it’s nothing. Just talking to myself. Oh, I have to resume training. I hope we can chat again soon, Itsuki.

Listen, I’m sure it must be hard to balance being a Star Maiden with being the Star Childrens’ trainer, but just know that I’m here to support you.

I never thought it was all that tough, you know?

Honestly, it really doesn’t sound all that tough. The trainer part is probably the most difficult part. The Star Maidens don’t seem to do anything in terms of “Star Maiden duties” other than hang around Itsuki and occasionally go to a class where Narc lectures them about random topics that don’t have any real bearing on their lives (Seriously, Narc. What the fuck good is it to teach them about different Impurities? They can’t fight the damn things!).



All right! I’ll work hard during training! If you’ll excuse me!

*Alfie heads out*



One last generic event left. Time for “Against the wall!”


Generic Alfie Event 3: Against the Wall!
~Day Camp~



Speaking of, I wonder what type of romance dramas are popular on Sora.

Not sure. Western drama tends to just mix romance in as a side-piece to whatever inane bullshit they came up with for their main premise. Usually hospitals for some reason. Although I guess that’s what Romance Dramas technically are when you get right down to it…

I know Korean Dramas are pretty big right now, although hell if I know what the most popular ones are. Romance-Drama isn't really my bag.



That doesn’t count! It was $2 and I was just grabbing whatever PSP games were left! Also the stuff in my Steam library doesn’t count… those were from Humble Bundles.

What’s wrong, Alfie?

Oh, Itsuki! You came at the right time. There’s something I wanted to ask you.



I only watched the dramas from 30 years ago, so I’ve been wondering about any newer ones.

I’m not the person to ask about that. I don’t really follow them. I heard that the wall-pounding thing was really popular for a while, though.

W-Wall pounding?!



No, but that sounds pretty cool.

No, that’s not what I meant. How do I explain this… I think it was something where the guy backs the girl against a wall and mumbles sweet nothings to her… or something like that.

It’s called 壁ドン (Kabe-don). Normally it just refers to banging on the wall to get people to shut up, but it’s also become a thing in the romance genre. It’s that thing where a girl (or guy) has their back against the wall and a guy (or girl) slams their palm/fist into the wall next to them. It’s normally an aggressively/very forward romantic thing, although sometimes it’s done out of legit anger/as a threat.

…Don’t ask how I know that. It’s not important.

Sweet nothings… I’m definitely interested! Itsuki, if you don’t mind, can you do that with me?

I guess I can. There’s no wall nearby, though. If that’s fine, then try coming a little closer to me.

Y-Yes, of course!

*Alfie moves in a little closer… which requires a fade to black transition for some reason*

Ooh…

Okay… um… what exactly am I supposed to say, though?



This took me a multiple attempts. All of these choices are basically the same, so I had no idea which one was the “best” choice. It’s actually “You only have eyes for me!”

You only have eyes for me!



Alfie is in to that. If you’re curious, “You can’t get away from me!” (Neutral) just has Alfie say “Sure, I mean… I don’t have any intention of running anyway.” “Let me… kiss you.” (also Neutral) has her respond by freaking out a little because it’s so sudden, but then quickly going “B-But… maybe if we were in another place…”

W-Wow… I couldn’t help but say that… Huff… Huff… So this is what the latest romance dramas are all about… They’re so much more powerful…

Part of me worries about how easy that was with you…

*Another fade to black transition. Probably to shift Alfie further back*



Was that actually helpful?

Yes! I think I understand what this wall pounding thing is now. I’ll do it to you this time, Itsuki!

Me? I’m pretty sure it’s usually a guy that does it to the girl, not the other way around…

It happens. More than you think.

There’s always a first time for everything! Okay, Itsuki. Look straight into my eyes! …



And you…?

…Why are you talking that way?

4/10. Too robotic. Not enough passion. Points for the blatant “I love you” and the stern expression though.

A-Ahhhhhh! Itsuki just stared at me blankly! I shouldn’t have done this!

*And Alfie bolts*



…I didn’t think she’d be that forward. That kind of surprised me.

And that’s all. Yes, Alfie only has those 3 generic events. The plus side to having so few is that it is easier to give her gifts compared to the other Star Maidens. The other Star Maidens have generic events that don’t give you the option of giving a gift, so it can sometimes take multiple tries. Alfie has a 2/3 chance of the event being gift capable.

Next time… yes, it’s the anime again. I have to find some time to watch the next 3 episodes. The whole social distancing thing has given me lots of free time, but it’s also happening right at the end of the semester when a bunch of stuff needs to be turned in. Fun times.