Part 11: Update XI - Training (Magic Circuit)

Update XI - Training (Magic Circuit)

Music: School III


These two are strangers to Fate, but have been in other entries in the Nasu-verse. First up, we have Aoko Aozaki, who had a role in Tsukihime as the one to give Shiki (Tohno) his signature glasses, and later got a starring role in the Witch on the Holy Night Visual Novel. She's an actual, capital-M Magician, holding the Fifth Magic.



Meanwhile, her sister Touko comes from even further back, starting in the Kara no Kyoukai novel series, running the Garan-no-dou detective agency that protagonists Shiki (Ryougi) and Kokutou work at. She also made Shiki (Tohno)'s glasses (which Aoko outright stole). While she isn't a Magician like her sister, she's one of the few people in the entire series to become effectively immortal. She does this by using a succession of dolls made to look like her, act like her, and have all her memories. When her current body dies, the next just gets up and gets back to work.

The important thing here is that Aoko and Touko fucking hate each other. See, when two kids are born to the same magus family, only one can become the family head and get all the stuff their bloodline has to offer, which includes the Fifth Magic in this case. Touko, being the superior magus, expected to get the role, only for their grandfather to name the much less skilled Aoko the successor instead. This kicked off a feud that's been running for so long that they normally try to kill each other on sight.

Suffice to say, the fact that these two are in the same room and aren't killing each other (plus anything in a several mile radius as collateral damage) requires nothing short of a miracle.

Well, it's not like the details matter. And the more test subjects the better, I always say. Welcome to the Eden of the East. I assume you're here for an Alteration of the Soul?

Alteration of the Soul? What is that supposed to mean? Realizing I have no clue as how to answer, she continues talking.

You don't know what the Alteration of the Soul is, but you came here anyway? Amateur.

Alteration of the Soul? What is it, you ask? Hmm... Simply put, you link your soul to your Servant's. When a Master's rank increases, we can strengthen the link. That's done by hacking into each soul and choosing what to improve.


In addition, once a certain cumber of Skill Points (SP) is used, your Servant will acquire powerful special skills. Be sure to strengthen your Servant before each Elimination Battle!

On the plus side, we can finally use all those Skill Points we've been getting!

Interestingly enough, the tutorial image has an impossible SP count. It has no points invested, yet it has 8 SP. Levels will never give less than 3 points.

Well, it's like my sister said. My job is to perform Alterations made possible by various events.

Sister... Are these two really related? I was about to ask if they were really sisters, but a sudden wave of hatred from the two stops me.

You get the gist of it, right? If you want to do an Alteration of the Soul, let me know. As for that creature over there, she's totally useless, like 8-track tapes or the C:\ prompt.



And you're lower than dirt. Don't screw up or the Moon Cell will come down on you...again.

Another mention of this Moon Cell. The hell kind of pull does it have to make these two settle for just sniping at each other? Kotomine's comment on this place being outside the system's jurisdiction means that they're almost certainly the real deal, so it isn't an act some NPCs are putting on.

Gah! How many times do I have to tell you that the Master was at fault...that time! They specifically told me to do quasi-legal Alterations, so I added a few...extra skills.

Laugh now, but it wouldn't be funny to the one who lost because of your towering incompetence. Listen well, girl. If you value your life, do not put any trust in that —thing's— abilities. If I were you, I'd stick to regaining the spiritual statuses your Servant may have lost.



Finally.



What was that? Oh yes, I'm far more skilled at Alterations than Aoko. By a factor of ten or so...

*Grumble* I hate having to take Touko's abuse every day. I'll try to control my rage...for now.

Even as she says that, I can see veins popping out on Aoko Aozaki's clenched fists. But aren't you exaggerating a little? I mean...ten times? I'm amazed that Aoko didn't immediately throttle Touko after her snide and offensive comment.

Why are you so surprised? And I wasn't trying to be snide, merely honest... In this case, shutting up and accepting her place is beneath me is the only thing Aoko can do.

Grrrrr...

Aoko gnashes her teeth in rage. But if Touko is so talented, why isn't she doing the Alterations?

I have other things to attend to. Not to mention all of the stuff Kokutou dumped on me... Right now, I'm simply keeping an eye on my lowly sister so she doesn't accidentally kill someone. So just ignore me. If you need to perform an Alteration of the Soul, ask the monkey over there.

~

You should be in the Arena training instead of talking with me. You're still far too weak.



Yes./No.



Now that I can finally increase my stats, halfway through the week, I can finally talk about the various stats:

Strength boosts damage on your regular attacks, as well as any physical skills. Caster has no physical skills, so she only gets a boost on normal attacks.

Defense, naturally, reduces the physical damage you take, but also slightly boosts magic damage. Caster wants a bunch of it, although The List mitigates how many hits she'll be taking.

Agility tightens the damage range on your attacks. For example, a hit that might do 70-100 damage can get boosted to 80-100 with higher Agility. Or you can raise Strength instead and up your damage to 80-110 and get the same min and a higher max. It also determines priority if two Skills clash, but that's such a niche case it isn't worth it. An absolute dump stat.

Magic is like Special from Gen 1 Pokemon, it acts as both magic attack and magic defense. Caster, as you might expect, wants as much as you can give her.

Luck is the catch all. It boosts damage a bit, it boosts defense a bit, it boosts the odds of crits, and reduces the odds of a status ailment landing. Boosting Strength/Defense/Magic have a higher impact per point, and ailments can be handled with items and Code Casts. Another dump stat.

All in all, the stat system is another victim of Extra being a poor RPG. Of the five stats, two of them are useless for everyone, and a third only matters for Caster herself.

Now, in terms of my build for Caster, clearly I'm going to pump up Magic and Defense for the entire game, right?



Wrong. Even though Caster finally gets a spell to sling, this early on she doesn't have the MP to keep it going for long. Since I'm going to be using normal physical attacks the majority of the time anyways, I might as well boost Strength to get much more out of them. For the next while I'll be sinking 2 SP into Strength and 1 into Defense with every level.

You can also see that I'm getting more than one stat point per SP. Each Servant has their own stat priorities, and investing into skills that match those will get a higher stat boost. Putting points into Caster's Magic, for example, would get me around 3 points per SP, compared to the 1.5~ points on Strength and Defense.









What now? Need another Alteration?

For whatever reason, you always get the option to go back into the Alteration screen, even though there's no reason to leave a point unspent.

Yes./No.



Now, Caster currently has 144 MP. How much does her shiny new skill cost?



30 MP. As it stands, Caster only has a measly four uses of it before she runs dry, and we currently have no way to restore Servant MP mid-battle. Even once we hit level 8 like the game suggests, we'll have five casts to spread out over a single fight.

On the plus side, Curse, Fiery Heaven is a very good skill. A 100% chance to cancel the enemies next action vs Break gives a lot more leeway in fights. If I see a Break on the preview and a mystery action right after, I can just pop Fiery Heaven and get a free hit while the enemy can't move!

Music: School IV


A scene starts when we leave the chapel.



We meet a new face, wearing some snazzy armor.

Sorry, my bad! I'm an atheist...swear to god!

Shinji, I'm going to enjoy killing you this week.

...Hmph. I have always believed that the Japanese were polite. I guess I was misled. Leave this place at once. The gates of heaven will remain closed to the unbeliever. It appears that in your haste to learn how to fight, you forgot to learn dignity and respect.



Having delivered his , the mystery man walks off.

*Grunt* I really hate old geezers like you, always talking down on me! When it comes time to fight, you can bet your ass I'll be teaching you a thing or two!



Now I just have to finish talking to everyone before I show off Caster's shiny new stats.



As a kick in the pants, we don't even get a reward for this.

Um...by the way... I hate to ask you for another favor, but... Hakuno, do you think you can do your lovely teacher one more teensy favor?

Sure, why not?

Really?! Oh, thank you! Truth be known, I really need a tangerine, stat! There should be a tangerine on the second floor of the Arena. If you could get it for me before the end of the first round, I'd be ecstatic! If you manage to get it, I'll give you a fabulous decoration for your private room. Good luck!

Yep, your choices for sidequest rewards in Extra are either a whole heap of nothing, or a cosmetic reward.

I'm doing them anyways. Not like it takes any actual effort to do.

Sound: Phone ringing


Heading towards the arena causes a notice to pop.



The second key has been created. I need to get it before the battle three days from now.



The more data contained in your Information Matrix, the better it is for your Servant.

~

There was this stuck-up boy who came by here earlier. He probably talks to himself in the mirror... He looked kind of irritated and was talking to himself. Something like "I get it now!"...



Nice, your left hand. Mine's... uh, it's a tramp stamp. You don't know how embarrassing that is.

Poor bastard.

~

My Servant got angry at me and told me to train my body instead. He means well, ha.



The nurse hands out free stuff occasionally, so I suggest you stop by when you have the time.

Only once a week, mind, so we still can't get more stuff from Sakura.

~

Heads up, you! Word has it that they'll be serving super-spicy bean curd soon. I can't wait!



I suggest that you head over there and see the changes for yourself.





Alright, time to go book hunting.

Music: First Chimeric Lunar Sea - Second Floor


The second floor has a more elaborate entry sequence. We start off with a cube.



Which then bursts open, revealing a new seascape.



We're back at the bottom of the ocean. This time, the sea is littered with broken ships instead of a field of bones and swords.



The seabed is covered in volcanic vents, and you can see oarfish in the distance.





It'd be a real pain in my tail if they caught us as we returned to campus, so let's just deal with them now. Master, we should try to find that book that idiot sea slug hid around here before he finds us.



A better look at the place.



The enemies here start at Inspires, not a Klein to be seen.



Let's test our our new stats, shall we?



Caster has tripled her damage!



What once took several rounds now takes less than one.



The second floor adds some new things into the mix.



Namely, hidden paths! Now I have to rub my face against every wall in every dungeon for the rest of the game!

Isn't Extra swell!



We get a free Return Crystal for our troubles. We can also see a locked gate up ahead.



We also get a better look at an oarfish.



The switch is guarded by something new.



The Viper hurts. That's after sinking a third of my points into Defense!

Caster being made of glass will never really go away. I'm only upgrading Defense for a single spot in the far future.



Activate



That opens the locked gate.



Just ahead is an obvious hidden path. I'll check it out after we find those books.



Oh my god, a non-hallway floor!



Also this big guy, known as a Cluster Horn.



Might as well try out our new skill!



Servant skills take up their action for that round. In a rare bit of mercy from the devs, you can see that the MP bar shows what's left after any skills you have queued up. If you have some way of restoring Servant MP, you can burn more than your max MP in a single round by using a Master action to top them off!



In a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, offensive skills are Dynamite. They automatically overpower Attack and Break, and Guard doesn't get to counter, although it halves skill damage unless the skill is explicitly anti-Guard.

The only real downside is that it makes it harder to mark things down on The List, but you'll still see a Guard, so next time you see the pattern you can just spam Attack and risk a draw.

Taking the Guard into account, Fiery Heaven only dealt around 40 damage, but being able to cancel enemy actions is a godsend.



Killing the Horn gets us a level, which nets Caster her fifth cast of Fiery Heaven.



I take a moment to enjoy a floor that isn't made of light.



Dead ahead is a massive, capsized ship.



Also some angler fish.

There's a fork in the road here. The right path is where we want to be.



We get a small cutscene cluing us in to invisible paths.



That spineless jellyfish probably would love to hide something in a place like this. Let's investigate!



There it is. The book that Shinji was so desperate to keep hidden appears to be some sort of diary written on sheaves of parchment. It is so old that the ink has begun to fade, but I am able to read the name of a ship the Golden Hind, the names of several islands, and the partial manifests of hijacked ships. This must be the ship's log of a pirate that sailed the high seas. It must've been constructed with a fairly powerful program since Shinji was obviously unable to delete this folder and had to hide it here.

The Golden Hind (formerly known as the Pelican) was the ship of a famous pirate by the name of...



...Francis Drake.



Although Hakuno's trivia knowledge is a bit lacking, so we'll have to wait for the internal reveal.

But there's a lot to be learned from this little missive. We've done it, my dear Master!



And I went through all of the trouble of bringing it down here... Oh well, I'll just have to take it back now.



He isn't kidding. Shinji has spawned by the entry portal and is actively hunting us down.

On a more serious note, the ship has a button inside of it!



And a new Mystic Code!



It has a new Code Cast for us. I end up swapping out the Gym Uniform for it to give it a spin later.



The button opens a locked gate on the other path.



Interestingly, the map only has one segment of the hidden path revealed, the cutscene just teleported us to the ship after the first one.



At the end of the passage is a healing fountain.



Just in time for Shinji to catch up.



Anyway, too bad for you. You came all this way just for me to take that book away from you.

Ah, it's that little punk! The divine hanmer, the punishment of Heaven, come forth to dispense justice! As a figure of divine authority, allow me to show you how potentially lethal leaking information can be!


Be sure to use the information you've gathered to its fullest and devise a plan of action to defeat your opponent!

Music: Duel - Unauthorized Battle








A level 2 Info Matrix turns into two moves getting revealed! We also have our first instance of an enemy using a skill.



If I'm lucky, I'll hit a Break and stun Drake. If I'm not, Guarding will blunt the damage.



I don't get a stun.





60 damage unguarded is a decent chunk, but nothing Caster can't handle.



Next round, Shinji joins in the fun. Enemy Masters have a unique set of two Code Casts.





Good job Shinji, you debuffed the worst stat in the game.



Round 3 has him go for another Code Cast.



The nice thing about skills is that you can just brute force a turn if you don't care about MP.





shock(32); is much nastier. A free hit we can't mitigate, plus a chance of stunning Caster and giving Drake an easy hit.



One slightly crispy pirate later, and we're done.



Music: First Chimeric Lunar Sea - Second Floor


D-Don't start getting cocky now! And anyway, the SE.RA.PH is watching. I'll be victorious in the end!



Shinji flees with his tail between his legs.



First off, I can say with supreme confidence that book is a ship's log. Oh yeah, and about that ship's battery that Servant just used in our fight— If she's that skilled in using vehicles in her favor, then that means she must be a Rider!

Don't quote me on this, but I think that her patterns are set to never let her use a Break before Culverin Cannons. Fiery Heaven is the only form of stun a player can have at this point, barring an obscene amount of grinding, so using Attack or Guard beforehand ensures you'll always see Culverin Cannons and let this scene make sense.





Unless you want to keep going and try to find the Trigger today? I vote for going back and resting, though...



Level 3 nets us a new key word, and a passive.





We could leave now, true, but the quicker I clean out the floor, the less I have to engage with Extra's combat. You agree with me, right Mr. Oarfish?

Next time: Keys, ramps, and stalling.