Part 16: Approaching the end!

So, after voting: we have Halo Slime, Mimic, Arch Demon, and ChaosDrake

(Kiefer) Awesome. Slalon's better as a healer now...

Venasu's now terrifyingly pink!

And he gives me a brand-new perspective.

Hrm. You need some training, Zugats. We'll bring you along for a while... so you, Slalon, aaaand Venasu, I think. Rearrange things just so...

Back to the port... let's see where else we can go from there.

We came from Lupghana, so on to Londarkia!

Worried Sailor: nothing. The sterile plains of the Londarkian Region are spreading. Take my advice. Don't go anywhere near that place.
(Luin) Sterile plains, eh?
You know the rule - go anywhere we're explicitly told not to go.


(Raider) Slime Knights are an interesting sub-species of slimes. The armor on their back is actually a natural growth of the slime. They get defensive abilities that raise their defense and evasion, as well as Heal.

(Machua) Oh! A Stone Man! Zubats could have been one of these. They're big, beefy, and quite defensive (obviously). Not really worth fighting though... not a very unique experience, and they also don't have a lot of money.


Enthusiastic Dreamer: about it, though. Four shiny orbs were flying around and around, and then collided! The ocean split open and a huge island appeared! It was so sool! Then teh water flooded back in!
Potentially Useful Hunter: Uh, did you see a caravan in the area?
Well, we came in one...
Potentially Useful Hunter: Huh, really? Great! They waited without abandoning me! Thanks, I'll be okay! (Dashes away!)
... What just happened?

Bewildered Townsman: It must be sealed by some kind of spell, because it won't open. Perhaps that cave leads to the Londarkian continent. Nobody seems to want to pass through it anyway, though.
Well, now we do!
Potentially Useless Bard: Oh, are you travelers? Listen to my song! Loolooloo! I'm more handsome than you! I am the wandering baaard! When I sing a little song... Everyone sings alooong! I am happy, loolooloo! And everyone else is tooooo! Wasn't that a good song? Do you want to hear more of my songs?
We already have one pretty-boy to fill all of our renaming needs. Two would be unnessecary.
Potentially Useless Bard: Oh, don't be modest! You want to hear more, right?
No, really. I don't.
Potentially Useless Bard: But thou must!
Seriously? Fuck.
Potentially Useless Bard: Hmm, that's right. Yes. Well then, perhaps you'd like me to travel with you?
In all seriousness, no.
Potentially Useless Bard: What? Are you telling me you don't need my songs? The truth is, I've only been earning enough to live day by day... But business is so slow that I might die. Spare me that cruel fate!
Nope. Bye!

Enthused Bully: Alright! I've decided to go for it!
(Oast) Welcome to Oast's Divinations. A mere 10 gold to glimpse into the future. Interested?
Kiefer, maybe we should try it! Don't worry about the cost. I'll use my allowance!
Whatever.
Thank you very much. What do you seek?
Hmm, please tell us the location of the Orb of Loto.
Ohh, the Orb of Loto? I've never heard of it, but I'll try to find it. Haiyaaaaa! Mngggg... Nraaaah! ... ... ...
So, do you know where it is?
It is invisible to me, as if shrouded in fog. This has never happened before...I see that you are working for a very special power. This interests me... Would you take me with you? Don't forget... I am a Seer. How about it?
Another seer could be useful down the line... Sure! Come along.
Then I, Oast, will accompany you. I will continue my divinations in the camp... If you have time, come and hear your fortunes there.
I'm sick of extended vowel sounds. So long, Alissa!
(Alissa) But whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
That's why.
Oh.

I am aware of how prisons work.
How? This is the only prison in the world!
... Because. Now shush.

But that guy... That guy has a thing for slimes... That's why he threw me in here. You agree, right? I didn't do anything wrong, huh?
Of course not! Those metals slimes had it coming to them, smiling like that...
If you think so, will you take responsibility for me? If you do that, I'll be able to get out of here! If you get me out, I'll work for you! I'm a Metal Hunter. Not surprisingly, I hunt metal type monsters.
Really? Like Metal Slimes?
Metal slimes? I can take them out with a single hit! Isn't that impressive? If you're interested, talk to the soldier!
I think I will! You! Pathetic soldier! Let out my friend over there, chop chop!
Slime-loving Guard: You want me to let that weirdo out of prison? I don't mind, so long as you take responsibility for it. It's not like the guy committed a serious crime, anyway. Maybe I should let him out, huh?
Damn right!
Slime-loving Guard: Okay, wait right there. (He opens the door). I opened the door. Hurry, take him out of here.
Thanks! It worked! I'll go with you! I can join you, right? If not, kick someone else out! I'm going to be worth more than someone else. So, can I join?
Of course!
(Gilme) Alright, my name is Gilme. Let me at those foul metal creatures! Let's get going, huh? Goodbye, prison!
Much as it pains me to break up a family, bye, Clast.
(Clast) Awwww.
Don't worry. Most of your family will likely follow soon.

Author's Note: The Metal Hunter is one of the most important classes for grinding in the game. First, it improves the frequency of encounters with metal slimes, depending on the quality of the Metal Hunter. Second, they do terrible damage. The standard Metal Hunter will always just do 5 damage to one target. However, this damage is perfectly accurate and cannot be mitigated in any way, even by Metal Slimes, who are usually immune to basically everything. Since Metal Slimes typically have 5hp or less, these guys are spectacular for that purpose. This scales up to 10hp per attack for the 2nd level - the Metal Killer, and 100HP per attack for the Metal Slayer. So, basically, the ultimate class for grinding.

Okay, that's everything in town, let's check out that cave.

(Getz) Hey! Stop looking at me like that! And stop using cold attacks like IceBolt and ColdBreath! And stop saving all your power as well!

Just... wow.
(Kachua) They have some generic warrior moves, like Save Power, BlazeCut, and Elude. But look at the face on that pumpkin! Crazy!

Onward and inward.

Hrm. "Londarkia is hereby sealed by Domedy, the Illusion. He has taken the castle of the wicked god as his own. The seal of this door can only be broken by an Illusion.
Kiefer, look! Domedy, the Illusion... It's written right here! That's the fourth one! It looks like we're going to need the power of the Illusions to open this door. Let's go and meet up with one of the Illusions that we've already seen!
Backtracking mode activate! Back to Moonbrook!

(Ricardo) Those Snappers make excellent salads. Their sleep venom makes a good dressing after cooking, and their tendency to Save Power makes their leaves quite tender.

(Kushalami) So, you want to meet Domedy, the fourth illusion... But you can't get to him, can you?
Correct!
Yes? But it's strange... Why would Domedy suddenly create a seal? He won't respond to my call either. You're not the only one troubled by this.
What should we do?
Meeting with me was a good idea. Take this with you. I think this is the key that will break the seal. Here! Take this wing! The wing also has one other use! If you use it as a tool, it will fly you to my castle. Well, we have other business to attend to. Excuse me.
Now: Backtracking 2: The Unbacktrackening!

Sweet! Door's open.
We opened it! The powers of the Illusions sure are great!
Nothing can stand in our way!

Except for these guys. Apparently, they can. Ouch. Okay. Grinding time!

(Gordon) Sure, he's heavy. But he can dance! He can Hustle and PanicDance like nobody's business. And the jiggling is mesmerizing.
Pffffffft. Bwahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHA. Ohhhh... Let's let him loose.


(3 hours of grinding later)

Suck it, mid-bosses! Onward and inward!

It's a cave full of obnoxious pit traps that dump us into a room full of poisonous swamp floors.

(Alex) You'd think that Mummies and Flames wouldn't team up, what with one being intensely vulnerable to the other. The Flames shoot off intense fire breath. Slalon used to be a Babble King, so we know about them.

See this room? Unless you take the correct path, it'll cycle infinitely. Go north twice then east until you find stairs going up. Though it could be different depending on which set of stairs you take up from the room full of pits.

IT'S THE MOTHERLODE! METAL BABBLES AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE! Sure, three of them will immediately run away, and one more's gonna leave shortly after, but they're worth 3333 XP each. That mid-boss fight we just had was 2500, and the average fight we're having right now gives 150.

Wait... how do robots have a heart? Or, if it's a metaphor, a soul? On that note...

(Deckson) The Robosters definitely have no souls. Their skills are defensive, but their statistics tend toward speed and attack. The Crystal Slime is another support-oriented slime with spells like Upper and Speed.

This should be the final area! It seems like it should be familiar in some way... Let's set up some final preparations before we explore this area, okay?

Monster Reformations for the End Game!

Slalon:

Slalon + Bubble King + Mad Cat = Dark King. The Dark King is an ultraheavy Dark Slime (+2 weight), but is another 5 star monster. He gets the awesome sounding-power Dark Wave. I'm not certain what it does, but holy crap! It's a wave of darkness!
Nothing. Just leave him as a Halo Slime for now. Nothing urgent - he doesn't hit his level limit at 45.

Venasu:

Venasu + Merman + Skullgon = Jamirus. Same weight, but much more impressive. Pretty solid monster all around. Great for attacking. Gets FairWind, which repels breath attacks.
Venasu + Death God + Demonite = GateGuard. Weighs 1 less, looks pretty awesome. Good attack and has a scythe. Ni new or special skills.

Zugats:

Note: Zugats *needs* to be changed
Zugats + Stone Spider + Phantom Glass = Proto Mech. Not as good as the Roboster, obviously - and weighs 1 more than the Mimic he is right now. But he's an awesome steam powered robot with some solid physical attack skills.
Zugats + Sabre Man + Gargoyle = Golem. Another classic monster, the Golem is 2 heavier than the Mimic. He also gets another rare skill - United Soul. I don't know what that one does either, sadly.

Carol can't change (Still level 1), but we can start bringing her along.


Tinymedals: 17 (30 spent for a Metabble Heart)
Hearts: BabyPanther, Tonguella, Nocto King, Bull Bird, Unicorn, Wild Ape, Walrus Man, Gargoyle, Flower Beat, Opabi, Mad Plant, Hammer Man, Pod Hero, Goopi, Puppet Man, Phantom Glass, Bomb Crag, Stone Spider, Demonite, Death God, High Merchant

New Hearts: Hammer Man, Slime Knight, Snapper, Berserker, Merman, Army Crab, Big Mommonja, Metal Slime, Sabre Man, Skullgon, Bubble King, Roboster, Metabble


Next time. on Let's Play Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Hearts: The Road to Not Rhone.

Note: After all the work I put in (most effort time than I've put into any post so far), as I hit the submit button I noticed a mistake in a picture. Can you?