Part 37: Food and Fakes

Update 29: Food and Fakes



One of these recipes has to be for apple sauce steak...


That is not apple sauce steak. Not even close.

Monster Fish Panino increases EXP gain from battles by 20%. Kind of a crappy effect, but it's one way to speed up grinding if you don't have the Yggdrasil Clover DLC.


Seafood isn't my thing.

Crab Cream Croquette increases all party members' LUC by 10. Unlike the other two foods, this one is really, really good. Having 10 more LUC makes a really serious difference when trying to inflict ailments and binds.


Horse meat? Ew.

Forest Paella recovers 2% of each party member's max TP per turn. I prefer the Walnut Rye Bread, honestly.


Alright, Regina, I'll have twenty of these.

Apple Sauce Bison Steak disables preemptive attacks and blindsides, aside from scripted encounters, walking into an FOE's back, and an FOE walking into your back. Not a fan of it--in fact, I'd call it "a complete waste of the food slot."

You might've noticed that I just cooked all the Western Food 3 foods.




Let's talk to this guy again, because of it.

I helped Regina cook all of them so I could get some apple sauce steak. We cooked every food in that book before we got to the steak.
...Oh, oho! She finished them all! As expected of Minister Dubois's grandchild. Ah, but this is great news. Thanks to you and Miss Regina, we can proudly introduce our guest to the restaurant.
Why couldn't you have just given her the recipes earlier so we could've had the steak sooner?
...Hrm? Why didn't I give her the recipes myself, you ask? ...Mmm. That would be...problematic, in some respects. I simply want to eat delicious food, and I want everyone else to eat delicious food, but some don't agree with my ideas. I would rather not burden Minister Dubois, and I'd rather Miss Regina not wrongly suspect any, ah, familial interference. So, this is the best way. I appreciate your cooperation. Oh, I already handed the reward to the owner. I hope the reward is enough to get you something nice and succulent. I should head back soon as well. But first... Owner, another plate of spare ribs!


Phew! Seems like yeh cleared that quest from the VIP. Gah. I gotta be on my toes all the time when there's important folks around. It's a real pain in the ass. I look at him and all I see is a cheerful fatso who loves him some roast, but I always gotta be so careful... Heh, I said too much already. Here's yer reward. Also, don't tell him I called him a fatso. Haw!
Only if you start serving apple sauce with steak here.



The Hit-Taker Grimoire is pointless, as are these level ups, because...



Ugh... Well, that break was nice while it lasted. Time to start up the tab again!
Mmrr.
A stratum in the sky. I'm getting hungry just thinking of all the birds...
Oh, I hope I haven't gotten rusty since I last explored...
If I can remember techniques from forty years ago, you'll be fine.

Meet the new party for the first half of the 4th Stratum. It's honestly decently well-balanced, if a little support-heavy. Then again, Realga'll make sure the enemies will have to work to bring down Ursa, and Freyja has insanely easy setup for Ecstasy now that Sophie's here.



As for skill builds, I had Freyja max out Gag and Cuffs just for the extra bind chance and damage. I left Shackles at 7 since leg binds, honestly, just aren't as useful in most situations as head and arm binds are.

She also has some points in Phys ATK Up, giving her a 9% boost to her physical damage. No, I'm not investing in Phys ATK Up for the Bait skills, they're really goddamn terrible. Honestly, Freyja's just going to be getting a lot of passives from here on out.



Asriel's actives haven't changed at all. All he's done is max out Phys ATK Up, giving him a 15% boost to his physical damage. At level 8, Phys ATK Up unlocked Pre-Initiative, which passively increases damage and accuracy when the user attacks before their target. Aside from level 9 (13% on Pre-Initiative vs. 14% on Phys ATK Up), its scaling is identical to Phys ATK Up.

Asriel will probably be taking a Rest before the end of the Stratum, since Horse Slash is starting to drop off in usefulness.



Leveling up Protect and Hit-Taker both to 3 unlocks Protection Vow, which decreases all damage the user takes and will automatically shield any party member under 50% HP from any attack for a certain amount of times per turn. At level 7, it reduces all damage by 27%, can protect a maximum of 4 times per turn, loses 12% chance to block per activation, and lasts 5 turns.

The important parts about Protection Vow are that:
a) The damage reduction applies even if the user isn't actually activating Protection Vow.
b) The user can still act fully while under the effects of Protection Vow.

This means that, for now, I can just use Protection Vow to cut Ursa's damage and then have her spam Hit-Taker.



I had Realga put one more point into Revive, which unlocked High Regen. High Regen places a buff on one party member that restores their HP at the end of the turn, reduces the amount of time they need to naturally recover from ailments/binds, and supposedly reduces the chance of the user being inflicted with ailments/binds, but hell if I can reliably test that. It's a very situational skill--however, it's useful with a Beast.



Sophie took a Rest, and I shuffled around her skillset a LOT. Venom Curse was useful for a while, but I want her to actually disable enemies now. We're also at the point where taking the chance on enemies hitting through Blind isn't something I'm comfortable with.

Instead, she has maxed out Curse Mastery, 5 points each in the binding Curses (for setting up Ecstasy), 6 points in Torpor Curse (the Sleep Curse, if you forgot), and a maxed out Evil Eye.

Evil Eye attempts to inflict Fear on a row of enemies, but more importantly, has its own small skill tree. Each of the Word skills only work on afraid enemies, and will completely override their action for the turn. Shielding Word tells one enemy to tank a certain amount of damage instances at the party for one turn--worthless in boss fights. Conflict Word tells an afraid enemy to attack other enemies--again, useless in boss fights, but a roundabout way of having Sophie contribute to random encounters.

Suicide Word is definitely the most useful of the Evil Eye tree. It targets one afraid enemy, and has that enemy attack itself a certain amount of times with a damage boost. It was more useful in EOU since enemy HP totals relative to their auto-attack damage were much lower, but it still has its place in EO2U.

Before we get to the main event, Regina has some things to tell us.



Is everything okay?
Tch, sorry... I shouldn't be bringing down the mood after we managed to finish a new recipe... Something's been bothering me. We've expanded our menu, and more customers are coming in...
From what I've been hearing, the customers like the food...but they don't come that often because of the heavy atmosphere...?
I mean, I don't come here much for that reason.
...This city has a lot of travelers, but a cafe without regulars isn't going to succeed. At this rate, my dream of proving my own success to my family is just going to be that--a dream. I thought that it would be enough to just cook delicious food. What am I supposed to do about this place's atmosphere...?
Try smiling more. There's nothing more unappetizing than a cross cook.
S-Smile, huh... I've never been great at that, but... Maybe you're right... I'll do the best I can.
This is for the sake of this cafe...and to bring me closer to my goal.

One more thing.


Who?
...What? Oh, you don't know who the Gourmet King is? He's kind of well-known around here... He's supposedly some royalty that loves eating, and whenever he visits somewhere, he makes his rounds and tries all the food. And if he finds something he likes, he'll order some for the whole area. He's a pretty big spender.
You have my attention!
A couple rumors sprung up based on his travels, and people started calling him the Gourmet King. This is our chance. As long as he's around to make recommendations, the people will try whatever we advertise!

Regina basically told you everything you need to know. The Gourmet King will randomly show up in a certain ward, and whenever he shows up, the ward will buy every type of food, and at basically the maximum amount.

I'm really bad at remembering to take advantage of advertising, so we'll see him the next time I remember.



Also, our maximum number of campaigns got bumped up again. Same conversation as before.

Let's take care of An outing in the forest. From the inn (no screenshot):

Oh... It's you all. Are you here to go to the Labyrinth with me?
Mhm. Stardust told us about the quest. Let's get going.
Thanks... Let's do our best, and go to the 14th floor.



SYSTEM: Her voice is shaking slightly. She may be nervous at the unfamiliar surroundings, or scared for her safety--or yours.
There's no need to worry, Quona... W-we won't let anything happen.
Ah... Okay...
SYSTEM: At your words, her hesitant smile returns. For the sake of her peace of mind, you should likely proceed more cautiously than usual as you move forward. You sternly repeat this thought in your mind as you start on your path.


You're doing fine, right? No respiratory problems? ...Uh, breathing problems?
Mhm, I'm okay. Thanks, um, for worrying about me... Let's keep going, then?
SYSTEM: You briefly chat with the girl, walking towards your destination: the room with the pure, clean air.


Where... are the people of Lumen from?
I'm, erm... From somewhere far away from Lagaard.
From a far away land... Then you had to be able to walk for a long time, right?
Oh, no. I rode here.
Ah, like a carriage or a ship, right? I've never been on one, a-and I think it would be really fun... But the most fun thing about it would be getting to see the country that Lumen came from...
With everyone coming from different places, that's gonna be a really big task.
Ah... um, I-I'm sorry. We need to focus on the road, right?
SYSTEM: The sparkle in her eyes fades as she drops the subject. Focusing on the task at hand, she seems to be back to her shy self. You agree that now is not the time for chit-chat, and resume your exploration.


Maybe this gel is blueberry flavored...


I must find out!




The nature of the Blue Gel's patrol pattern makes it easy to get a preemptive on.

I already posted the Blue Gel's info in update 25, so let's just get a reminder of its stats.


Blue Gel
HP: 7197, STR: 39, TEC: 37, VIT: 29, AGI: 22, LUC: 35
Damage resistances:
50% 50% 50% 150% 10% 100%
Disable resistances:
50% 100% 25% 10% 50% 25%
10% 10% 50%
50% 25% 25%

Let's fight this thing for real. All the Blue Gel will do is either attack us, or cast Elemental Gel. Ursa makes the attacks a non-issue--the real challenge comes from not running out of TP, since this stupid thing halves all physical damage.

It's worth noting, by the way, that I had the party consume the LUC +10 food before the fight, to give Freyja and especially Sophie greater chances of inflicting disables.



The Blue Gel has less resistance to head binds than arm binds or leg binds, so I'll let Freyja handle it instead of Sophie.



Asriel needs to set up Upper Stance.



Just making Ursa's job even easier.



This Warrior Song Grimoire has served Realga very well.



I haven't gotten a chance to actually explain what Creeping Curse does between when Sophie was last in the party and when Dr. Fetus and I started prying EO2U's internals apart. It's actually one of the best Force Boosts in the game: it triples the base chance for any ailment or bind, and is then applied alongside the Curse Mastery (and potentially Curb ATK Up) bonuses. Even against enemies with heavy resistances, a boost that big will make inflicting things incredibly easy.

Abdomen Curse, for example, has a 48% base chance at level 5. Curse Mastery is currently leveled up to 10, and provides a 20% boost to base chances. With Creeping Curse, the base chance becomes (.48 * 1.2 * 3.0) = 172% base chance. This doesn't account for any LUC differences, but Sophie has the advantage here thanks to the LUC +10 food. If Sophie had equivalent LUC to the Blue Gel, she'd still have a whopping 43% chance to bind the thing.


Grr-RER!


How do you even tie up a monster made of a viscous substance?
I... I don't know, honestly.


Metal doesn't seem to faze a goo creature. Eh.


...Blech! Euuuugh.
What's that thing taste like? Blueberry?
It tastes like gel--nothing.

Two binds down. This'll be fun!



...It's better than the random noises, but--
Don't ask.



Let's fucking go.



Horse Slash will be counted as a Fire attack for the purposes of being compared to the Blue Gel's resistances.



Easiest tanking job of Ursa's life.



Made even easier by this.



Okay, can we get a 3-bind Ecstasy this time?


Where does that rose even come from?
I-I wish I could tell you.



Well, it helps.


...Rrr?

Oh man, watch out, that was over 10% of Ursa's HP!



Oh boy, here we go!



Everyone repeats their actions from last turn, except for Sophie, who instead uses Black Mist.

I also wasn't very specific about Black Mist before. If you've played EO4, you'll probably remember that the Black Mist Burst skill forced all ailments/binds on every enemy to last 1 extra turn. Black Mist in EO2U is literally that exact same skill. It might not sound like much, but believe me, sometimes 1 extra turn is also you need, especially when dealing with Ecstasy.


It...tastes horrible...



It's...beautiful. And consider that the Blue Gel halves all of Freyja's damage.


You ate so much of the thing that it's barely able to function... I dunno whether to be impressed or weirded out.
You should buy me dinner from FOEbucks when we're done for the day. My mouth still feels like gel...



Accumulative resistance means that the Blue Gel is now immune to arm/leg binds, and has 20% resistance to head binds. I'm instead gonna have Sophie try to inflict Fear on the Gel.



Damn.



Welp. Trance ran out at the same time the head bind did.



Freyja's damage is now much less impressive.



It's just slightly above Asriel.


No...more...
How is this thing still alive?



The arm and leg binds fell off, so now Freyja's basically only damage option are Gag and Cuffs.



The thing's nearly dead, but getting there now is gonna be an exercise in frustration.



Conflict Word's pretty bad when there's no other monsters in the battle, but it keeps the Blue Gel from acting, so...


Look... I'll stop eating you if you just hit yourself...



Ick.



If you use Conflict Word on a solo enemy, it just hits itself once.



I should've brought some Jars that Realga and Sophie could've just chucked at the thing.



Please just let it be over already


GrrrRRROR!
The thing's almost dead, Ursa. I don't really think that's necessary.


Simp--



...You are the greatest bear, Ursa!
Hrr... Hrr... Thrrs...

Take stock of what happened there: Ursa halved the damage from the first Freezing Fluid instance, and then procced Aegis on the last hit.

Oh yeah, Freezing Fluid. Blue Gels use it upon dying, and it deals 300% ranged TEC-based Ice damage to the entire party. Didn't know about that beforehand? Too bad, enjoy your game over.



I-It's over, right? Nobody is hurt...right?
Thanks to Ursa here, we're all fine. She'll be fine, too, with a bit of patch up.
That's amazing. I can't...do that at all, so I... I really respect that...
SYSTEM: Her words are heartfelt. She watches you in awe as you gather yourselves back up, her eyes shining. This must be quite a burden on her. With her condition, she must have been frail since birth.
But, um I try to be healthy. I--I want to see, um, a lot more things.
SYSTEM: The girl's words are somewhat more confident, and stronger. You resolve to protect her as you continue onward.


SYSTEM: The air here is somehow cleaner and fresher than anywhere else in the forest. Just breathing in makes you feel cleansed. It seems the girl is well aware of its refreshing nature. She breathes in deeply, opening her arms wide as she steps slowly forward--slow, clear inhales followed by gentle exhales. You decide to spend some time with the girl here.


Ah... Um. W-well...
SYSTEM: Embarrassed, you look down at the girl's hands and find a Flower Pin made from the white clover of the forest.
I...made this charm...and... I want to...give it to you...


Well now, this is quite the pretty charm. Reminds me of the Amarantos I hunted for with the Ballad brothers and that hat-obsessed Medic.
Uh. Ignoring that gibberish...
SYSTEM: It isn't common knowledge, but a flower pin made of white clover is used for wishing someone a safe journey. You accept the charm from her. You can say something in return...
I'm not normally one for believing in stories, but we'll still treasure this, Quona. _{Not like this thing can be sold for much anyway.}
...Eheh... I-I feel like I'm...a lot healthier than usual... Hehe...
SYSTEM: The girl is nearly glowing with happiness. The quest is done! All that remains is to take her back to town!



Welcome back, kids! Glad to see yeh're safe. The innkeeper came by to say thanks. She said her daughter got back okay.
I guess everyone in town keeps an Ariadne Thread on them... Oh, how's Quona doing? Is she feeling better?
She said her kid looked like she was havin' more fun than usual talkin' about the forest and yeh! Ain't it great? Haw! Well, yeh're done with this quest. Here's the reward. Take it! Awright then, see yeh next time!



The Fortune Necklace is VERY worth our time. It gives +7 LUC to whoever has it equipped--with how EO2U handles its stats, that is an incredibly big boost to a character's chance of inflicting ailments/binds. I immediately put this on Sophie.



Isn't it beautiful? With the LUC +10 food and the Fortune Necklace, Sophie actually has 9 more LUC than the 4th Stratum boss, and is only 1 shy of the main story final boss's LUC.



High Regen now lasts 5 turns instead of 4.



Now that we have the last 3rd Stratum ingredient, let's cook some food.



Traditional Kabutoyaki is an...interesting food. The game's description is that "When an enemy is inflicted with sleep, the chance of waking it with an attack has decreased!" This description badly undersells it--this thing makes it so that there's a 75% chance that an asleep enemy won't be woken up when attacked. You still get the 1.5x damage bonus on STR-based attacks, for the record!



Snow Egg Oden gives all party members' normal attacks a Fire element for the first turn of a fight. Meh!



Crab Chazuke makes it so that Grimoire Chances have a 40% chance of becoming an Enemy Grimoire Chance. Pointless.



Hoo hoo hoo, the Apple Matcha Shaved Ice. If you thought the Traditional Kabutoyaki's description undersold it, the Apple Matcha Shaved Ice's is "When inflicted with blind, the enemy's hit rate will decrease even more!" What it actually means is that blinded enemies have an extra -2000 non-base accuracy penalty applied--basically, blinded enemies have an incredibly tiny, almost 0%, chance of hitting you.



Apple Blue Aiyu Jelly increases the range of Therica As and Bs (not Theriaca, that's from previous EOs) to row-target. I'm not the biggest fan of it, since I'm more a "neutralize ailments/binds before they land" kinda guy.



Bison Lamian makes it so that, when a party member is inflicted with an ailment/bind, they will recover 25% of their max HP at the end of the turn. Being hit with multiple binds or an ailment + binds does not increase the heal amount. Among all of the terrible foods, this one stands out as especially bad.



Horse Bao gives every party member +80% resistance to Sleep. There's a few instances in the game where this is useful--namely Scylla, if you're having issues dealing with Lullaby.



Snow Crab Foo Young gives every party member +80% resistance to arm binds. There's not a ton of bosses where this is useful, to be honest.




And right about here is where I realized Regina's conversations meant everyone in town has new dialogue about her.

I must say, she's got a handsome profile! I bet she's quite popular...with the ladies, of course!
I'm sure that...handsome profile makes her popular with...ladies that lean a certain way. Y-yeah.
She looked a bit put out. Maybe because her store isn't getting any customers... She should try marketing towards girls! Bahaha! If that's the case, I might even become a regular there!

U-Um, I talked to Regina the other day. I...thought she was gonna be s-scary, but she helped me pick up my things when I dropped them all on the ground... I-I hope I can talk with her again...



I've been thinking about going there, but I've heard some things about it that make it seem a little scary...
Food's good. That's all that matters.
R-Really? Well, if you all say so, then it must be true! The rumors are a little scary, but I think I'll stop by sometime...



Hmmm. This is going to be rough. It'd be easier if it was a test of just cooking, like making a dozen omelettes or something...
I'd find making a dozen omelettes harder than smiling more, honestly.



Y-yes. Regina Dubois.
But she's a noble, ain't she? Why's she puttin' herself through all that trouble?
She...seems like she enjoys the work...
Bah. Nobles. Can't understand 'em.
You 'n me both, Cass.



This patron's also shown up again.

Do you know about that store named FOEbucks? It's the restaurant that the Duchy funded!
How does everyone not know we're the ones behind everything but the cooking?
...There's still a scary atmosphere in there, but they keep coming up with new dishes, and I just have to go in and try them. Sometimes, the dishes look... how do I put it...? Abnormal. But the flavors are just sublime... *drool*
U-um... You're--
G-Gah! ...Nothing! I-I wasn't drooling! You didn't see anything!



She's in a difficult situation. I'd be glad if you could help her however you can.
We just helped her cook the majority of the 3rd Stratum recipes. I'm sure that qualifies.
...Even just hearing her out might do some good. I'm sure she would appreciate it. ...The girl doesn't have any friends she can turn to.




Dubois starts talking to us about the third Ginnungagap quest, which I took off-screen due to recording issues, as soon as we enter the Grand Duchy.

We took that Ginnungagap quest.
Ah, I see! So you are the ones that took that quest for us! Allow me first to express my gratitude. You see...we have not been assigning the Ginnungagap investigation requests based on idle academic curiosity. Those lands are sacred lands that exist for a given purpose. I wish to maintain the sanctity of those hallowed grounds. But...from what I see on the guards' reports, more and more monsters roam its halls, and corrupt it from within.
I'm still trying to figure out what was up with that Arachne thing.
Thus... I would like you to continue in your past assignment--eliminating the dominant monsters within Ginnungagap. To this point, nobody has progressed farther than your guild. Truly, nobody knows what secrets lie within this ancient haven...
You sure about calling that place a haven?
But if these terms are indeed agreeable... then I can only wish you good luck. This time, perhaps you can make use of a traditional legend of High Lagaard. If you enter the open area of Ginnungagap's 2nd floor at night, the way into the deeper ruins will open...
Local legend? That's the first I've heard of it...
Find out the truth behind this folklore. If it indeed proves true, use it to explore deeper into Ginnungagap.

We have to go to the sealed room in Ginnungagap B2F between 7 PM and 6 AM to start this.



And his Regina dialogue.

But I fear that Regina has encountered some difficulty on her path. ...But that is just how life is, of course. Whether or not she can overcome it will depend entirely on her own capabilities.
Y-you're not going to help her?
What's that? No, I will not be lending her a hand. She would learn nothing if I were to intervene.




One quick rest at the inn later, and we're ready to start A clever ruse.

SYSTEM: You can see a large gap in the bushes ahead... likely where the original requester fell through. If the requester's story is true, then there must be a treasure chest just beyond these bushes... There is a crack before you that you may be able to fit through.
Alright, one at a time...


...Did that chest just snarl at us?
SYSTEM: When you pass through the gap, you find a small room. Just as reported, there is a treasure chest here! However, exercise caution! If the story is true, then you have no idea what may occur...
Eheheh, c'mon, hurry!


Alright, come to mama--


AAAAAAH! WHAT THE FUCK?!
A monster in a box?!



I don't think I've ever heard you swear like that, Realga.
If a giant fanged monster jumped out at you right in front of your face, you'd probably let out some colorful words too.


Mimic
HP: 6890, STR: 39, TEC: 22, VIT: 27, AGI: 37, LUC: 36
Skills:

• Glutton: Uses the head. Deals 400% melee STR-based Bash damage to one target. Has an 80% speed modifier and 60 base accuracy.

Drops:

• Normal: Deceptive Jaw. 100% chance. Sells for 1720 en. 1 needed to make Slaughter Shield (+100 DEF, -156% resistance to all types of damage, ailments, and binds).
  "Through trickery, this jaw harmed many people. Its sharp teeth pierce through any material."

Damage resistances:
100% 100% 100% 50% 50% 50%
Disable resistances:
50% 50% 50% 100% 50% 50% 50%
10% 10% 50%
50% 50% 50%

Creature that disguises itself as prized objects and devours passers-by. Keep your guard up!

Mimics are honestly kind of boring. Their normal attacks hit hard, and Glutton is basically instant death if it connects--then again, it'll miss more often than most skills do with its 60 base accuracy.



Love it when the auto-activate for a stance kicks in.



Even better!



The Mimic has 50% resistance to all binds, so I'll just have Freyja focus on the arm bind while Sophie focuses on the head bind--the important one--and the leg bind.



Asriel's going to do nothing but spam Horse Slash until Upper Stance runs out.



This is a mistake, as you will see shortly.



I should've just casted Warrior Song.


Rr-ROR!




Aw fuck.


I-it nearly severed Asriel's torso...
That's, uh... That's gonna take some effort to fix.



No bind. Damn.


Alright, Ursa, take care of yourself while I get Asriel back up.
Rr!


Alright, that's Glutton taken care of for now.



Look how little damage Ursa takes with Protection Vow.


P-put those claws down... N-now...


Alright, that's the worst of the bisection taken care of. How're you feeling?
Like I'm still about to snap in half.
Hey, at least you're still alive. _{Hm... I should really decide on a fee for revival.}


It tastes like wood and... I don't want to know what.

Hee hee, here we--



Oh come on, fucking really?



Well, Asriel has to set up Upper Stance again.



I should've just Black Misted this, since the Mimic now has effectively 20% resistance to head binds.



Oh well, that's still almost 1/4 of the thing's HP.



Yeah, that was kinda predictable.


Hrr-hrr-hrr.



Realga finally has a chance to cast this thing.



Alright, yeah, this isn't working.


Urk!

Even through multiple defense bonuses, that thing hurts.



Ugh. At least the thing's at half HP.



Switching to Evil Eye.


The...stitches're coming away...
I'll fix them, gimme a sec.



Imagine if I had casted Warrior Song earlier. Sigh.



Aaaaaaagh.



And now the last bind fell off.



Worth a shot.


There, fixed the loose stitches.



Okay, what.

That was...unlikely, to say the least.



Timely, too!



Getting impatient now.



Freyja missing is usually pretty unlikely thanks to her above-average AGI and LUC, plus the fact that Ecstasy doesn't have an accuracy penalty.

When it happens, though, UUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH.



Well, it's still more than Asriel's doing--around 380 per Horse Slash.



Finally!



...Right as the thing's about to die.


Okay, let me take stock of this. You scared the thing by biting it. Enough to make it kill itself.
Mhm.
...You never cease to amaze, Sophie.



SYSTEM: This monster must have caught the requester by surprise... You appear to have discovered the truth. You can go back to the bar to report, or you can continue to explore.
Are you all kidding? That monster wouldn't be impersonating a chest for nothing! Come on, there's gotta be real chests further in!
I-if we run into another Mimic, Realga, i-it's on you...

So, yeah. That's the gimmick of A clever ruse: Mimics.


Aha! See? The Mimics look different!
And what's the exact difference?
...I'unno. They just look different.

I'll be honest, the only reason I know what chests are Mimics and which are real is just through prior playthroughs. Sometimes the glow effect on treasure chests differs from Mimics and treasure chests, sometimes it doesn't. Their textures might look slightly different, but hell if I can perceive it.



I mean, yeah, the Mimic on the right had the FOE "noticed" exclamation point on it when we entered, but that's not reliable for every Mimic here.



This is what I was talking about with the glow patterns--the left and center chests are Mimics, while the right one isn't.



Piece of junk. This thing has a 30% base chance to inflict Fear on an attacked enemy. Zack and Phoebe are the only ones that can innately use this, and while Phoebe's LUC is middling, Zack's is terrible.



As for this room: you can't see any of the chests when entering, and the Mimics and chests are in different parts of the room. So yeah, unless you know the difference in texture, this is guesswork!




Don't think we've seen these things yet. Unihorns dispel all buffs and debuffs on the party, while Metopons dispel all buffs and debuffs on enemies. Both of these items ate nerfs in EO2U--in previous games, Unihorns just dispelled debuffs, while Metopons just dispelled buffs.



These are Mimics, by the way.



There's random encounters in this area, but they're all normal 4F enemies, who are absolutely no trouble now.



And finally, one last room, full of Mimics.



Except for this.


Ooh, this looks important.
SYSTEM: You may be able to use this key to open sealed doors. If you recall where you found any of these sealed doors previously, you might head there now to test it.
Aha. This is for all those doors with seals we found, like the one on the first floor.
...I hope you're not insinuating that we can't sell this thing.
Maybe those rooms contain treasure worth far more than that key? It's too important to sell, Realga.

For any of you playing along at home: the Yggdrasil Key is needed for two postgame bosses, including a very important one! It's in your best interests to do this quest.

In any case, we technically finished the quest once we killed a Mimic, so...


Oh, yeh're back! So, how was it?
Well, we got attacked by a monster in a chest and then found a really important key. Interesting day, all in all.
Huh? Yer sayin' the requester got attacked by a monster disguised as a chest?
Yep. There was a ton of those things in that secret area.
...Maybe I ain't really cut out for collecting all the treasure in the Labyrinth, if some of it tries to kill yeh! Of course, it's all the same to yeh lot! Monsters, treasure, yeh'll take whatever yeh can find! Haw haw haw! Here, this is yer reward. Use it wisely, now!



Nectar IIs revive a dead party member at 200 HP--a massive nerf from EOU, where they fully restored the revive target's HP. They're still useful, mind you.



Phys ATK Up now boosts Freyja's physical damage by 11%. Wow!



Asriel now gets 2% extra damage and +100 non-base accuracy if he hits an enemy that hasn't taken its turn yet.



Protection Vow now reduces all damage to Ursa by 29% when it's in effect.



And, lastly, Torpor Curse now has a 45% base chance to put a row of enemies to sleep (up from 44%).

That's all for now. Next time: FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISH (and a bear mauling).

...Ah crap, forgot to screenshot the Slaughter Shield store unlock. In any case:

Slaughter Shield (+100 DEF, -156% resistance to all types of damage, ailments, and binds) is made from 1 Deceptive Jaw. You might be looking at this thing and going "what the fuck?" The resistance decrease more than offsets the DEF increase. However, there is a reason: this is actually a weapon. Yes, it's supposed to be used in conjunction with the Protector's Shield Smite and Shield Rush skills. Yes, it's garbage.