Part 45: Update XLI - Old man

Update XLI - Old man

Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - First Floor


Yeah, there's absolutely no difference in dungeons. Same map, same enemies, same loot.



Since we've already seen everything, I'm going to say fuck it and just fire up some good old cheat codes and blow past everything that isn't a Servant.



Let's just skip to the anomaly.



The murder attempt fails, but the game gets mixed up and thinks Rin was the one who sent us here.

Music: Breach


Ronnie makes an appearence, bringing her bloodstained Servant (who, by process of elimination, must be a Lancer) along for the ride.

-!! Creepy! Her aura isn't like Julius— It's worse! Oh god, when did I let this anorexic party clown and her hulking Servant slither up to us?! Are they going to pick a fight here?



You know the drill by now.

Strike while the iron's hot!

Grrr... Have you no respect for my wife's feelings?! -Very well, I'll slaughter you!

Wh-What in the heck is—?! This sensation... It can't be...

Music: Duel - Unauthorized Battle




My cheating shows that Ronnie's Servant is running off the same plan as Arc, a normal turn followed by two turns of non-stop Skills.

Interestingly, Caster's using one of her low health lines here, despite being nearly full.





Cursed Spear hits fairly hard, and has an added Curse chance.



One more hit does it.

Music: Stops


iT lOOks SO deLICIouS... fINALLy, I HavE soMEThiNg tO eaT...

Oh god.



As a small consolation, people fade away when they die in the SE.RA.PH, so she wouldn't be able to eat much.



Music: Breach


Observe them



Huh?



Don't you agree, my opponent?! What fate! What a test!



yUp! yOu spillEd aLL heR reD, reD bLood beCaUse yOu wERe too eXcited.







But—! But in becoming a guileless monster, true love has returned to me! Yes, my love?! You, my tragically empty and triumphantly full Master who consumes only what she loves. My spear rises in giddy joy when I ponder my luck in meeting you! Behold this fine meal we have encountered by divine will! Is it not fateful, oriental fox spirit?



I long to pierce that supple body of yours with my spear. You compel me, you, you- You supremely gorgeous creature. Priests say heaven wraps a cloak of death around the people it loves too dearly to be apart from. Truth, it is truth. Love is death, and death is love. And you I love so dearly I wish to kill! Would it trouble you if I bathed these halls in blood, my love?

Seriously, can I please have Gatou back?



anD lil' RoNNie's tuMmy isN't SUPER huNgry rAvenOus right Now.

My love. My love. I would never make you consume the meal you hunger for so greatly before its time. Hmph, your lives have been spared by my wife's wisdom. I suggest you flee before she changes her mind!

In a reversal from Gatou and Arc, here the Servant is a religious zealot and the Master is the lunatic.

...I guess that bizarre clown's stomach saved our lives. ...What am I saying?!



I wouldn't mind fighting right now! But, I have a bad feeling about it.

I was going to make another remark on reused lines, but this one is slightly different! Caster called Gatou a freaky guy, but called Lancer a freaky old guy!

If Caster wants to retreat, then I better follow her advice. Retreat for now, and when we know more about them, then we can engage.



Have you noticed it yet?

That sense of deja vu?

That's right, while the faces have changed, every single plot beat from the other side of week 4 is getting reused. Talk to the girl we saved in the infirmary, get pendant from the girl we didn't, enemy Master blocks off the Trigger on day 1.

That's why the Matrix levels were just given to us by Gatou, and why we had that random filler contest from Kotomine, as they can easily be done on both sides. Other than Rani/Rin teaming up with us, this entire week is filler that could be cut out entirely with no cost to the plot. The writers were trapped by both making a seven round tournament the core of the game, and having the player fight a single Servant of each class, forcing them to make two different opponents just to hit that quota.

Now, I could just walk away and come back tomorrow for the Trigger, but that would be boring.

Let's get them out of the way right here.



Strike while the iron's hot!



Lancer's damage output is much, much lower than Arc's, dealing only 600 compared to her 1200 with their skills.



So I can just brute force the first turn with a bunch of Curses.



Rebellious Intent is a simple buff that boosts the damage on Lancer's Guards.





Which pairs wonderfully with his Master's seal_break();. In a normal fight, his AI would tend towards using Guards with his buff up, and locking out Break means I can't punish it. This is doubly harsh on Caster, as it means I can't use Spirit Theft to keep my MP up.



But it doesn't matter here, since I'm just setting him on fire six times.



I have full health, I know he's going to spam skills, and my low MP means nothing thanks to Aphotic Cave's refund.



Each Cave will knock Lancer's damage down to around 150 a hit, so I can tank five with no issues and heal up on the last action.



These are some much nicer numbers.







Ceremonial Purge is Lancer's other skill, ditching the Curse for increased damage.



Damage varience means I end up almost dying.



But the only important hit point is the last, so I'm able to heal up on schedule.



Then I just do the same thing next turn.



And done!

Music: Breach


Surprisingly, the game actually acknowledges my win!







We should try to avoid contact with them again until we know more. I have a bad feeling about this.

Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - First Floor


With them gone, there's nothing stopping me from grabbing the Trigger on day 1!



Granted, they would have left after today anyways, so I don't really save any time, but it is neat that the writers don't just play it as me losing and blocking off the path anyways.



On the way out, I find something interesting.



Namely, an enemy that uses a Skill holy fuck.





300 damage, granted, but it is rather infuriating how it took around half the game for a normal mob to use one. Every single trash fight from the start of the game until now has been exactly the same on the enemy side, aside from ever larger numbers.



Nothing else of import happened.







Lancer shows up in the Matrix, as expected.



Music: None


Hakuno has her dream.



Music: School I


And Caster reminds us to follow up on the pendant.



Rani's at her old spot on 3F.

Music: Duel of Fate


I tracked them down. Collecting the data gave me a headache, though. I wonder why...



I see— It seems my hypothesis was indeed correct. The knife I gave you does, in fact, absorb residual magic power. However... While doing so, it also puts a phenomenal amount of stress on the brain of the wielder.

Stress... on the brain?

Music: Stops


-! The icy grip of terror grips my spine. Was this all just a trap? Have I put too much trust in this girl...? -Wait, that can't be right. I accessed the distortions yesterday and I'm still alive. Then...what was the point of all this? Is it her playing some kind of esoteric joke?

Music: Fear


Wha—?! I couldn't have possibly heard her correctly.



You're either a replicant like myself, or perhaps a demi-wraith ensnared by the SE.RA.PH. Do you really have no recollections regarding when you first arrived here?

I don't know, I just— It's like I can half-recall a dream that I can't remember ever having...

A dream, upon arriving in the virtual world? I've never heard of such a thing happening... Or maybe...it's because humans are capable of seeing dreams within a dream...?

I'm the same as Rani...? I'm not a real human being? That has to be describing someone else as there's nothing extraordinary about me. Even without my memories, I'm sure about that— I raise my head with the intention of questioning her, but Rani had already disappeared.

Music: School I




And now we go see Rin.

Music: School III


Are you going to tell me why you saved me today? Or did you want to chat? If that's the case, sorry.

She brushes me off before I even start to speak. It's not like I had some explanation planned. It's true that I saved her without thinking. I was panicked. Saving the life of a friend seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Anyway, nothing changes the fact that Rin's purpose has been taken away. What's worse, the one who did it—me—has no purpose at all. I haven't found my purpose. I haven't found out who I am.



I'm unable to get any words out, but somehow Rin understands what I mean to say. Like she was reading my mind.



That's right. Your memory hasn't returned yet, so it's only natural you don't know your own reasons.

Rin's sigh of annoyance doesn't inspire much confidence in me. Rin ignores my apprehension and says something more.



But, well... You did save my life. So I'm willing to extend to you the benefit of the doubt. Because, one day, I know you'll become a Master worth entrusting with my dreams.

Rin Tohsaka sighs loudly, as if to say, "And that's final."



As if driven out, I step outside of the curtain barrier. It's true that I haven't explored much of the Arena. I'm no closer to answering Rin, either. I'll head to the Arena now. Because just maybe, I'll find my answer through fighting.

Music: School I


I sorta have, though.



So I just pop in.



Then leave after some quick cleanup.





Next time: Amazing how fast this goes when you can skip all the gameplay.