Part 54: Once I ran to you; Now I'll run from you

Update XVII: Once I ran to you; Now I'll run from you
Song Title Reference: Tainted Love - By: Gloria Jones (I prefer the Marilyn Manson cover, personally)


Okay, so I’m fine now. I’m completely okay. I took a… we’ll call it “minor” issue with the last batch of anime episodes. The Arie thing? I’ve moved past that. Maybe there is some minor detail buried in a generic event or her ending or single line of dialogue that was changed in translation that depicts her exactly like how the anime did. I don't buy it, but I’m willing to concede the possibility. Even if it were true, it wouldn't change the fact that the anime characters are grossly warped versions of who they are in the game, but whatever. Besides, characters are always open to personal interpretation, however wrong those interpretations might be.

The Femiruna thing? …Well, I haven’t moved on from that yet. No interpretation can make that half of Episode 6 less of a trash fire. But at the very least I will cease to talk about it in the hopes that it will fade from everyone’s memory and eventually from reality itself, like some kind of Persona 5 metaverse thing.

Does that mean I’ve regained the will to continue with the rest of the anime?



…We’ll see what happens. Let’s just leave it at that.

We’re going to Sagittarius this time, in order to cap off the Autumn Labyrinth.



There’s not much to say about the design here. It looks like Sue, with the black and white squares similar to what she has on her coat. There doesn’t appear to be any reference at all to animals or anything like that, though.

Mahiru’s dungeon really set the bar high (for this game anyway), and it’s disappointingly clear that we’ll never come close to that for any of these other dungeons.



It’s also becoming clear that there won’t be any cool or powerful weapons in the rest of these dungeons. Poisonne+ is outdated.



Extremely outdated (everything listed below Poisonne+ is more powerful, and there are 3 or 4 weapons listed after “Mighty Claws”). I think we’re not going to be seeing much in the way of new weapons or armor until we reach Ophiuchus. Starting to get the feeling that all the good shit is locked away in a separate loot table over in that dungeon.



That said, I do manage to get my hands on two incredibly small upgrades to existing weapons, courtesy of the Item Shrines. Raitzeno gets a slightly stronger version of Calamity.



And the magic casters get a new wand, which is possibly a “joke” weapon. Hard to tell.



It is slightly stronger than the Planet Rod series of weapons, but the trade off is a big loss of DEF and also Light element attack. That’s not really worth it in my opinion.



Nothing else happens in the dungeon, other than me getting attacked by trap monsters 50% of the time I tried opening a treasure chest. Let’s just hit the boss.



A centaur… probably should have expected that. Oh well, he’s Fire element, so it shouldn’t be that bad. Itsuki is still rocking the Water Element sword after all.

Mana tells us that it has a variety of attacks and that we should watch out for its rear legs. Neither of those things will be true or relevant.



Tentatores has a Crater (Earth) and a Crater (Fire) with it, as is standard for a boss. In terms of personal stats, Tentatores has a scary amount of ATK and decent speed. It does have a magic attack, but I wouldn’t bank on it using said attack since its MAT is so low.



I immediately move to set up a Chain Drive, but Tentatores is fast enough to beat out Team A(wful) and Team C for first turn. Team A(wful) eats a ton of damage, but manages to hold on.



Team C gets the Chain Drive, which gives me a quick moment to fully heal Team A(wful).



Team C gets their next turn and heads off to take out Crater F. I have Itsuki take a swing at Tentatores since he has elemental advantage in this fight. 7k isn’t bad, although it’s only a dent in the boss’ HP.





Team A(wful) gets the hell out of the danger zone and goes off to take out Crater E. Team B swaps in to hit for max damage with Arrow Fusillade.



Tentatores responds in a bad way. Raitzeno and Twybil go down, but Neoman and Polsy are still standing. However, Tentatores is going to be stuck to Team B for the rest of the fight. Despite the fact that Itsuki is standing directly behind him, Tentatores will make no effort to take a swing or kick him or whatever it is that Mana was trying to warn us about.

Because Tentatores appears to only have single target attacks, the rest of this fight devolves into healing Team B while everyone else takes pot-shots. Fights like these aren’t hard, but they can easily go south very quickly if the boss is even a little faster than you. All the good healing spells and items have a fairly hefty delay time, while the boss mostly sticks to quick recovery standard attacks.

Granted, at this stage of the game, your item stocks should be maxed out and you can easily afford to just dowse everyone in potions until the stars align in your favour.



At the very least it’s nice to know that the bosses are starting to catch up in terms of threat level. That fight wasn’t quite the floor cleaning that the past two were.



Although the huge amounts of EXP we get from them continues to slow down the narrowing of the gap.

We also get 3 Faith Fruit from this fight. I forgot to use them on Itsuki, so I’ll try and remember to do that next time. Pretty sure it will boost his MDF.



Only two more bosses remain. Regular bosses, I mean. There’s still the 13th Phantom to worry about. At some point before then I need to try and clear out the remainder of the quests. I’m not aiming for a 100% Completion run, but it would be nice to know if there are any special quests or bonus bosses to fight.

The pain in the ass will be that some of the remaining quests require me to get my hands on multiple of particular weapons or accessories. So whether or not I can complete them is left up to the whims of the RNG. The best that the game gives you is a general location of which Labyrinth they can be found in.



The shop is also getting dangerously close to parity now. Another dungeon or two and he’ll finally be selling stuff that we’ve had equipped since Labyrinth 7.



So, what do I have to fill the rest of the update with this time? …There are some generic events for the other Star Maidens. I guess we could take a look at some of those. Thankfully this should be one of the last times that I need to fill out a dungeon update. There’s main story content to get back to after the next dungeon is cleared. Then we’re on our way to the end game.

For now, let’s see some generic events. In particular, I want to do some of the generics where the Star Maidens get a little jealous. Several of them have events like that, although not everyone.


~Star God Academy Field~



I definitely wouldn’t say I “enjoy” going in there. I just have to.

You may say that, but you always look so excited.

Really? Although, I guess that’s something I can’t really tell.



Don’t sulk like that, Femiruna.

I am not. I was merely wondering… Your duty or me. Which one is more important?

Seems like a really weird thing to get jealous of. Also, that’s not much of a choice. One is sort of tied to the other.

Obviously both of those are important.

Huh…?

…Why is that so surprising?



You always push me aside to tend to it…

Because you and everyone else in this world will die if he doesn’t. Is that part slipping your mind?

Do you really think that way about me?

No, that is not true… I already knew. But I wanted to ask you anyway. I apologize for asking such a strange question.

Ah, it was one of those trick questions. “I believe in you and trust you with all my heart… but I want to make sure, you know?”

I want to be your number one…



You are currently trailing 1st Place by… 18 votes, I think. …Would you settle for being number one in the bonus “Alternate Timeline” update where I show off your ending? Because I think that’s a more realistic goal at this point.

It pains me to see that you have other things on your mind…

Femiruna…

I care not if it is a lie. Please just tell me that I am most important to you.

Non-binding commitment? Now that, we can do. Unfortunately the event ends there, so Itsuki doesn’t even give her that. Harsh.


~Star God Academy Field~



Yesterday? Hmm… I think I dropped by the Day Care at one point…

Were you at the tavern?

Yesterday? No. Today? Definitely.

I don’t really remember. Why?

I was out shopping in town yesterday.



Gonna have to be a bit more specific than that, Arie. There’s like 12 beautiful women besides you that Itsuki spends time with, you know.

Really?

I only saw you from afar, but you were arm-in-arm and looked to be very close. Then you two went into the tavern together.



Listen, if Itsuki had wandered into the tavern with some strange beautiful woman, I’m sure Farun would have had that information spread throughout the Star Maidens long before sundown. Farun seems like a bit of a gossiper, if that event with Reone was anything to go by.

You were definitely mistaken, Arie.

I wasn’t mistaken. I truly believe that was you.

You believe it, or you know it? It sounds like you didn’t actually see me.



You sure?



To be fair, Itsuki looks pretty generic. Well, other than his outfit… maybe? Is it only the academy students that wear blazers and pants? Do regular village people dress like at all, or do they all wear insane fantasy clothing like Narcisstes and the shopkeep?

Or… maybe…

You must have mistook someone else for me. I would have remembered walking arm-in-arm with some beautiful woman just yesterday.

No, I’m sure it was you…



Just imagining you walking with some other woman makes my heart hurt… It seems I wasn’t looking too carefully. I’m sorry…

It’s all right. I’m just glad that you believe in me enough to admit when you are wrong.



Just imagining you walking with another woman makes me… Please, Itsuki. Please come talk to me more, even if it’s only from time to time. Please don’t go to anyone else…

I understand, Arie. I’ll try and stop by more often.

I should point out that none of these “jealous” events will stand in the way of Itsuki pulling off a harem ending. Arie being jealous of other women monopolizing Itsuki’s time? Eh, she’ll be fine with it when it’s a woman she’s friends with… and there are 12 of them. Femiruna wanting to be number 1? She’ll be happy to settle for “13-way tie for number one”.

Harem endings are stupid.


~Star God Academy Hallway~



Unlike Arie, Ruka has a specific person in mind as the target of her jealousy.

Yeah, that’s right.

So… how are you two?

…What do you mean?



I’m not sure what you’re getting at.

I-I’m asking if you like her.

Well, yeah. I like her. She’s family.

Right, you did say you were cousins as well. I see… Family…



If you’re cousins, that means you’re related by blood in some way.



Ruka knows what’s up.

Did you just say “relief”? Why would that be relieving?

I-I was just talking to myself. You don’t need to worry about it.

You can just tell that in Ruka’s mind, she’s fist-pumping right now.

Okay. Well, what’s with the sudden interest in Mahiru?



Uhh…

O-Oh, I mean… Um… Mahiru is a God’s Gift so I can’t read her mind. That’s why I was curious about her. Th-That’s really all there is to it.

I’m a God’s Gift too. Aren’t you also interested in me?

Th-That’s why I was asking… Jerk.

You’re mumbling again. Did you just say “jerk”?



I’m going home.

*And Ruka books it*

What just happened…?


~Star God Academy Hallway~



I… wait, did we promise to meet there yesterday?

No, but… I wanted you stop by.

He’s not a mind reader, Mirei. Also, you guys have communication devices or something. Shoot a text, gurl.

Whenever you don’t, an inexplicable emotion overtakes me.



It pains my heart and I become unable to focus on my research.



Well, I can promise to stop by as much as possible.

…Really?

Yeah. It can’t be every day, though. I have a lot on my plate.

That’s more than enough. Thank you, Itsuki.



I’ve never done so before.

…Are we forgetting about the “cut off a piece of your skin” thing from way back? Although I guess Mirei wouldn’t consider that a strange request.

But I’ve calmed down now that I’ve spoken with you. Come to my lab later. See you then.


~Star God Academy Field~

Hn…

Is something on your mind, Tarua?



You look so cool, Itsuki.



The best answer is sometimes blatantly obvious.

So long as you like me, that’s all I need.

Wh-What? What’s that supposed to mean?

It means exactly what it sounds like. As long as you like me, then that’s all I need.



Why are you getting mad?



Anyway, you’re super good looking, so don’t let your guard down. Girls are always chasing after you.

You’d be… wait, no, there was that one time in Mahiru’s route where a girl literally chased after him. I guess she is right.

I don’t know about that.

It is! I know it is! You’ll get jumped on when you walk around town!



Well, if that does happen, then I guess I’ll be relying on you to save me.

You can count on me! I’ll protect you, Itsuki.



You’re a bit late on the “bedroom eyes” look, Tarua. Then again, you’re the most childlike character here, so that’s a good thing.

I can’t protect you if you don’t. It’s a promise!

Lillith/Lillie, Farun, Yuzuha, and Collette don’t really have a “jealousy” generic event. So let’s just wrap things up with Mahiru, Sue, and Reone.



Mahiru’s is a different kind of jealousy, though. Namely it’s Itsuki that’s a little worried about competition.


~Star God Academy Classroom~

I don’t see her anywhere. I wonder where she went?

Yup, that’s all there was to that scene. I told you, Mahiru’s events have a lot of these pointless scenes of Itsuki standing around in an empty room, speaking one line, then leaving for a different location where Mahiru actually is.


~Star God Academy Field~

Oh, there she is. …Wait, is that Narcisstes with her?

*The screen fades to black for a moment so that Mahiru’s model can be loaded in*

Oh, you came at the right time. Take a look at this.

…You mean the grass you’re holding? Is something wrong with it?



Oh shit, was Mahiru scoring some weed off of Narc?

I went to gather them in the forest for my extracurriculars.

Never mind. What am I thinking? Mahiru’s the school idol. She’s too much of a square.

You were doing extracurricular stuff? Then where is everyone else? I only see Narcisstes.



Oh. So you just went with Narcisstes by yourself?

That’s right.

…

…



What?

For Mr. Narcisstes and me.

Well, yeah. You told me it was an extracurricular thing.

But you just suspected it was a date, didn’t you?

She’s got you there. You trailed off into silence, you know damn well that you were thinking about that possibility.

No! Although, you’re getting really defensive about it, so that’s making me suspicious…



It just so happened that everyone else was busy! Besides, there’s no point in deepening my bond with Mr. Narcisstes.

Not really sure what that has to do anything. Just because there’s “no point” doesn’t mean that you don’t want to.

Don’t get so worked up. I was just messing around with you. Anyway, what kind of herbs did you get?

Well, um…



We’re good. I’ve got a warehouse full of potions and stuff for that. Also most of the Star Children have full heal spells.

You picked these up for me?

It’s not good if you get hurt, so you should at least be prepared.

Thanks, Mahiru. Sorry for doubting you.

You’re welcome…




~Star God Academy Classroom~



Oh, did you need me for something?

No, I just wanted to talk with you. Don’t make me say that every time. It’s embarrassing… It feels like I’m the only one who wants to talk.

Not like you to get embarrassed so easily.



No heroine can resist the corruption of the male protagonist. Unless there’s an evil route/bad end.

Whew… Whatever. While we’re at it, you can ask me anything.



It’s kind of hard to think of something when you put me on the spot like this…

Don’t you have at least one thing you want to ask that you normally can’t? I won’t let you go until you ask me something today.

…Is that a temporary tattoo? Because we noticed that it disappeared when you put your swimsuit on so I was kind of wondering—

Well… let me see…



…We are not asking her Option 3.

…Is there anyone you like?

There is a younger man that I’m interested in.



Dense is being generous, I think.

Haha… Do you know who that is?

So it’s someone I know, right? Is it Narcisstes? …Although I’m pretty sure he must be older than you.

Well… He’s so dense he sometimes irritates me…



I’ll definitely ask similar questions from you later. Maybe I should ask about your first love and dating history while I’m at it.

Pretty sure Itsuki’s dating history is a clean slate.

Am I really supposed to tell you stuff like that?



I may get jealous. I’ll be asking you all night when the time comes, so be prepared for that.

I kind of feel like that line should have read “I’ll only ask you about your relationships with the Star Maidens.” Maybe that’s just me.


~Star God Academy Field~

Itsuki, hello. Um… I have a question.



Is this about animals?

…Itsuki, think clearly about what you just said. Sue asked “quiet, happy, or sexy”.

No, not animals… I’m talking about human girls… I want to know your preference. What type of girl do you like?



This choice may as well be “Are you going for a Sue ending or not?”

I think quiet and gentle girls are best.

…Really? I’m quiet and gentle.



Yeah. I like someone I don’t have to constantly be talking with.

Personal opinion? Not a fan of overly quiet people. I’m far from being a chatterbox, but at the same time sitting there in awkward silence all the time would be weird. A conversation needs to be able to happen without petering out every couple of words.

Haha… That’s great. If you like quiet girls, then I’m the right fit.

You don’t have to be the right “fit”, Sue. You’re cute the way you are. Just be yourself.



Of course. If you try and change yourself to fit someone else’s ideal, then you won’t be you anymore.

…Thanks. That makes me so happy. You’re the coolest you’ve ever been.

I dunno. Didn’t you see that time he defeated a bunch of impurities with a single swing? Weren’t you there for that? It was when Femiruna nearly got herself killed. That moment was pretty badass.



And with that valuable life lesson, we’ll call it quits. Next time: We’ll be going through the Maidens’ unique side events. Sue, Ruka, Mirei, Lillith/Lillie, and Femiruna all have their final CGs during those. So they’ll be the focus of that update. Sue even gets a Yukata! Which she didn’t wear during the Autumn Festival event for some unspecified reason.