Part 32: Stratum 2: Legends

Little is known about the chain of events leading up to the time of Besek’s return within the Valdian Knights save that the favored choice for the Commander’s position was passed over.
- excerpt, The Fall of Valdia

Uncertainty

The path through the forest branched off here, there seemed to be a clearing to the left so we went that way.



I think this place is bringing back a lot of bad memories for everyone.

Video- “Legends Lead In”

Click For Video

*sigh *
Stay focused, Olifen.
In times of crisis, your men will look to their Commander for hope and reassurance.
Right now, I think you’d depress them even more.
Who the hell cares? It’s just us right now.
Olifen, things’ve changed. I think you need to realize your own importance.
Importance?
You’re the Valdian Commander, or have you forgotten…?
Ha! Commander!? ME?
Don’t make me laugh. I’m not fit to be Commander!

Of course we all certainly have a lot of them.



Olifen…
I’m the guy who couldn’t even save his own regiment…
On the last mission, I couldn’t do anything when the Reev tribe fell to the Majin!
I couldn’t save them! I can’t save anyone!
…
That’s not true. You did save one.
Huh…!?
I heard a girl from the Reev tribe was found alive after the battle.
A-Are you sure?
There’s a girl out there who owes you her life. You did something good out there.
I… I sure hope so.

I think Logue’s… problem is getting worse.



How’re you feeling? You good to go?
Ready for battle, Commander Olifen, Sir.
Know it off…
You know, as hard as I try, I just can’t do anything right…
I’m not worthy to be called “Commander.”
If you’re talking about the Olifen I know, I’d say you’re completely wrong…
…?
Hey! We don’t have time to sit around and chat about the old days!
Yeah, yeah, we’re coming, alright?
I’m just looking out for your best interests, Boss. You should be thanking me.
Well, I didn’t ask you to do that! Now let’s get ready to move!
Wh-What’s the matter with him…!?
Hm…
Marie, your directness might be just what he needs to become a better leader.
(What the heck does that mean…!?)

We just need to keep moving forward.

Video- “Legends”

Click For Video with Commentary



Ally Team:
We’ve got the same mercs we’ve had the past few maps, until we get Yuri there’s no real point switching things around.

Enemy Team:
There are a lot of Majin on the map. None of them are new but several are versions of a Majin we’ve not seen yet. There’s a Thiefler, three Apis, two Aquamote, two Cursed Soul, and two Gripnor. Let’s look at the Majin we’ve not seen in this form yet.



Gripnor has gained Terra II and Fortify with this new version. It’s still vulnerable to Fire and Strikes, and those are going to be our best bets against it. We do need to be concerned about Terra II causing Fracture, that’s the largest concern.



The high-level Apis is actually quite distinct from the Vespulas we fought in Desert. It’s still vulnerable to Fire, and it trades its Disease Attack for physical passives. It’s a lot less annoying because of that.



It’s possible we’ve not seen this specific Aquamote yet, so I’m going to talk about it. It’s quite resistant to Strikes and vulnerable to Fire and Pierce just like all other Aquamotes. It’s got a decent amount of Aqua magic to throw around and can heal, it’s potentially a real pain.

Deployment:



We’re far from the Majin and I have a Thiefler to knock the hell out so I want Marie up front and ready to go. She can burn one of the low-level Thieflers out with trivial ease. This map is almost as bad as Desert’s maps as far as having annoying impassable stuff and is even worse in having awkward angles on terrain trying to see things.

Tactical Objectives:
- Loot
- Majin we’ve not seen before
- Levels

Map:



Huh…?
The road to Izel…

And we’ve got our first mention of Izel in Olifen’s story. I start out pretty simply, throwing buffs around and advancing. An Apis up on the near ledge comes down to shoot Olifen, which is pretty much exactly what we want it to do so that’s good. Marie hits is for most of its health with a spell, getting us off to a good start. The enemy Majin that are currently out of range meanwhile throw a lot of their buffs around, it’s not really a problem because they’re all far away. Logue lumbers up to support Marie, since she’s closer than I’d like to the Majin right now. Thiefler meanwhile is advancing right into our teeth, as that’s the shortest path to the chest it wants.



Princesssss? I don’t knooooooooow…
Damn! Another dead end!

Apis meanwhile flies out of the jaws of our melee and instead shoots at Stein. This is good because I was worried it might attack someone important like Marie. It also gets it out of Logue’s way.



I know…
…

Logue spears the Cursed Soul and Thiefler, and then Marie closes the deal on the Thiefler with an Aero II. Meanwhile, we heal Stein up and throw some magic at Apis to take it down into the red zone. Logue levels up under fire from the Majin, which doesn’t get him any new skills or anything annoyingly. Meanwhile, Olifen is in a great position to finish the Apis off with a chop from his sword, getting him a level.



Not much to report from Olifen, it’s really Marie and Levatte that are about to get some good skills. Logue’s taking some heat from the Cursed Soul and Aquamote, so I pull him back a bit to get him healed up. Marie smokes the Cursed Soul and starts on Aquamote with a Pyrosphere. Ares scoops up the Apis, and Olifen moves up to grab the Thiefler. Aquamote casts on Olifen, and he responds with a sword slash as I start moving the rest of the party up to bring them to bear. A Pyro II from Marie ends the Aquamote before it can heal itself back up. Olifen’s moved up far enough that the Apis on the ledge is provoked into advancing, which is again a good thing because now it’s in range to be swatted.



What do YOU want!?
You smell pretty tastyyyyyy! Hahahahahahahahaha!!!
Hahaha, well I know I’m tastier than any of you!

Seriously these conversations with the Majin in this story are hilarious and if you’re skipping past the map part of the update you’re missing out. Anyway, Marie smacks the near Apis with a Pyro, and levels up.



This level turns Marie from merely powerful to crazy, over the damn top powerful. She’s gone up to S in Fire, and she’s gained Pyro III. When Reyna got Pyro III, it was cool and gave him a Fire spell that could reasonably Overkill things sometimes. Marie’s Pyro III can potentially one hit overkill Majin that are vulnerable to Fire, straight up. Scooping up some bound Majin also gets Stein a level, as long as I’m being forced to use him I might as well try to get him some new skills. Alack a day’s mischief, though, it came to naught.



It’s alright, Levatte. We’re all watching your back!
Y-Yes, Ma’am!

We capture Aquamote, and then slap the Apis down with a brutal combo from Logue and Olifen. We have started to attract some attention from the path to our right, though, and the Gripnor there is using its Earth spells on us. To me that says I need to hit that path next, I’m not going to take that shit from a bunch of Majin. Fortunately, two of us can play that game and Marie nearly smokes the Gripnor in a single spell thanks to her new S rank power as the melee advance to enter the path.



WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Yessss! I’ll destroy them AAALLLLL!!!

I’m really worried Olifen will kill the Gripnor but not Overkill it, so I have Olifen charge the Apis in the path. He takes some heat from the Apis and Aquamote, but when I get Ares in to weaken the Gripnor a bit more I pretty much guarantee she’ll be the new target. Gripnor actually fires some magic at Irina, who I guess must be the most vulnerable to Earth of anyone in range, and then backs off annoyingly high up the path. Marie isn’t able to reach it with a spell where it is, so she starts following the rest of the group. Fortunately Marie is very fast, so this isn’t a real problem. Apis gets weakened a bit more, then becomes the first of the three Majin to fall, dropped by a Combo from Olifen and Ares. She levels up, though she doesn’t get anything really notable. Gripnor is next, falling to a Pyrosphere from Marie. Aquamote drops to a spear attack from Logue, a rapier stab from Olifen, and a truly apocalyptic Pyro III from Marie that would have killed it in a single hit. I’m down to just two Majin, but there are some real concerns right now. I’m down to my last few heals, so I need to be smart about how I play the rest of the map.



Okay I lied. What I actually need to do is one hit overkill half of the remaining Majin with a Pyro III from Marie. Then Olifen levels up from scooping the thing up.



Olifen gets Mental Resist II, which is really nice for him because he can remove them himself and Mental status can actually be really bad for him later on, since Curse is a Mental and would really screw him up. Hell, Curse alone is worth going Consumed for Logue in some ways, as we’ll see in a few maps when I completely disable a boss with the Curse status. The chests in this map had a Teardrop, a nice healing item that cures Physical status, and a librum with the Accelero skill on it. Never a bad thing. Gripnor goes down humiliatingly easily, and now I milk the map for levels on Marie and Levatte because I might as well.



Marie’s gone up to A in Dark now, which is awesome. There’s a Demon Aura we’ll need a Malus spell for much later, and Marie can easily break it now. Now for Levatte.



Levatte gets the universal status cure spell Divinus now. It’s awesome and it makes Levatte much more awesome and useful, because it gives us someone who can cure Mental status now. Anyway let’s end this.



Commander Olifen…?
Hm? Oh… It’s nothing.

Battle Results:

Levels:
Olifen 13->15
Logue 12->13
Marie 14->16
Levatte 11->12
Ares 8->9
Stein 8->9

Majin:
Aquamote Lv 13 x 2
Thiefler Lv 7 x 1
Cursed Soul Lv 10 x 2
Apis Lv 12 x 3
Gripnor Lv 12 x 2

Refugee:
Nadesico

Levatte lagged a bit behind as we returned to town, not sure why.

Video- “Legends Lead In”

Click For Video

(Maybe if we can find Princess Lenarshe…)
Ah, and how is your investigation proceeding, young Levatte?
Count Duphaston!
I’m simply amazed by your eagerness to study at such a young age. It must require sterling discipline…
N-No, Sir, I just know that I have a lot to learn still…
Hahaha… For the Pope’s prodigal student, you certainly are quite humble.
It is no wonder you are considered such a sure candidate to take over His Holiness’s position…
Thank you for the compliments, but there are many candidates for Pope.
I don’t think I’m worthy to be singled out from the rest.
I believe you’re much too hard on yourself.
With such a learned scholar on the task, well…
I’m positive the Chuch’ll obtain the Eternal Poison in no time at all. Wouldn’t you agree, my boy?
…
Verily, I doubt anyone would suspect a child of your age would actually be sent by the Pope…
Count Duphaston, Sir…?
Yes, dear boy?
Well… It’s nothing, I suppose.
Txen s’tahw? Syug, yeh!



Yrros-s-s…
Well now, Levatte, I’m afraid I must depart from this place. It was a pleasure making your acquaintance.
(That man…)
(What’s he up to…?)

Some of the mercenaries we’ve met here are pretty nice people.



Nena: C-Could you send Miss Marie my thanks…?
Ummm… She… She saved me last time…
B-But I probably should go tell her myself, right…?
I’m sorry to bother you, Sir…

Irina’s been looking into the Count, I can’t say I’m surprised she’s found some shady rumors about him.



Irina: I recommend you be careful around Count Duphaston.
Before starting my mission, I researched him a bit…
My conclusion is he is not to be trusted. Please be careful, Commander.

That girl Muse in town is rightly a bit concerned about what’s going on in the Traviata House.



Muse: Isn’t the Traviata House really creepy? I hear weird noises coming out of it…
Every time I see you go in there, I get really worried!

The Stag people here are really my least concern.



Velnor: You probably know this by now, but I’m from a Stag country…
To be exact, I’m a soldier of Peluna. I guess we’re supposed to be enemies.

The Majin sure don’t care where we’re from. We picked up another Koona, I’m not sure they like the Count that much.



Ossa: …Gninethgirf os!
Drah krow ll’i! Nioj I nac?
Daeha deeps lluf-f-f-f-f!!!

The Count certainly has been getting stranger recently.



You know, Levatte is quite studious for one so young…
He has quite a future ahead of him! He could even be Pope someday.

That thief Leon had some interesting information for us.



Leon: A Majin that one one’s ever seen before has been sighted in the next Stratum!
It looks like a snake… but with three heads!
It doesn’t carry weapons but is still extremely dangerous. Was that helpful?

A three headed snake, huh… No use worrying about it until we’re ready to push forward. Mana keeps trying to get me to take strange medicine.



Hello…
Mana: You don’t look so well. I should prepare another analeptic for you…
No, no, no! That’s quite alright.
Mana: Hm, I guess its’ hard for a regular person to stomach the snake blood…
Don’t worry this time, I’ll use a more mild recipe. You’ll love it!
No, no, it’s fine. Don’t worry about me.
Mana: But you’re the Valdian Commander who’s going into Besek to save the princess!
How are you gonna save her if you don’t even take care of yourself!?
It’s just a lack of sleep. That’s all.
Mana: Lack of sleep?
I happen to know the perfect remedy! This’ll have you asleep in no time!
Umm…
Mana: Don’t worry, this one’s only made from flowers! …Well, mostly…
It’s okay, I really don’t need it!

I swear she’s trying to kill me. Shelayla seems to be hiding a lot of stuff.



Thank you, my lady. It’s good to see you.
Shelayla: Well then, what shall we talk about today, hm?
Why don’t we talk about YOU for a change?
Shelayla: Fair is fair, I suppose… What would you like to know?
Let’s see… How about the reason you were in Besek?
Shelayla: Well…
I came to Besek to find someone.
And you went in alone!?
Shelayla: Of course not! I’m not THAT brave…!
So you were with someone, then?
Shelayla: No.
I can’t give details, but I had someone bring me here with a certain… method.
And that is how I came here, Sir Olifen.
A certain… method, huh?
Shelayla: I think that’s a good place to stop for today.

Also Xiao Mei continues to be crazy.



Hm? What was that?
Xiao Mei: It’s my catchy opener! “Are you full of Love?” It fits, huh?
I see.
Xiao Mei: Golly! You’re great at small talk!
Huh…?
Xiao Mei: By the way, your clothes…
Oh, this? It is the uniform of the Commander…
I don’t feel it suits me, but…
Xiao Mei: Tha’ts not true! You look great! I love a hero in uniform!
Of course, where I’m from, we don’t have any guy main characters…!
So it’s nice to see one in such a great ensemble! Really authentic!
Authentic…?
Xiao Mei: Anyways, thanks for keeping me company! You’re lots of fun, Commander Hero!
H-Huh? Commander… Hero?

You’d have to be crazy to think I’m a hero. That girl we rescued last time also woke up, finally.



Oh, you have finally awoken!
Nadesico: Who are you…?
I am Olifen, Commander of the Valdian Knights.
Nadesico: Val…dian?
You were lying unconscious out there when I found you. Do you remember?
Nadesico: I can’t remember very much…
Oh, I see…
Well, you still look tired. Why not rest here a while?
Nadesico: Thank you. I humbly accept your offer.
Very good, then…

I really feel bad for some of these people, I think Besek must connect to other places or even other worlds because they definitely don’t belong here…
- operation record, Commander Olifen