Part 47: Fashionable Weapons

Update 47: Fashionable Weapons

In This Update:
- Rare Treasure: A Paid Fashion Internship!
- The importance of determination and focus!
- Old Man Yells About Millenials!

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Welcome back! Today we are learning about FASHION!


More specifically, counterfeiting. Glamia Pepe are the people behind Ribbons. The Ribbons. The best accessory in the game.


So I'm more than happy to help them.


Did you see the rank of this mission? We don't need buffs for this.



: What's this? A dagger through my heart, these claims! Our goods are as genuine as our patrons think they are. And do they not leave satisfied? Oh, but they do. So tell me what wrong there is in that. Of course, we can't have you disillusioning them, can we...

: They paid for something they did not receive. Now it's your turn to pay!


And you better believe these thieves are gonna receive something.


Once we all move within fighting range, anyway.


Yeah, this battle is a bit easy.


Still, it's more about the story, right?


Tsing takes out three of them with one spell, though Zoe really did all the work here.


Cid finishes off the last one with a Thunder Breath from around the corner.



: Let's hand them over to Galmia Pepe and be done with this.



---


But that's not the end of the operation! We took down the street-level dealers, now we have to strike at the source.


Is anyone else kind of weirded out by us handing criminals over to a corporation? I guess there's no formal police force here, but still.


Can't deal over 100 damage, eh? And we're still massively overleveled?


I think we can deal with that just fine.



: If the name on the tag is right, we could sell almost anything. The swooning masses that buy this rot can't tell the difference, at any rate. What do you say to a Ludoa Bag for an encore?



: This has gone on long enough, kupo!

: Who asked you! I'd wager this is the lot behind the trouble at the docks. Never come between a man and his gil. Have at 'em, lads!

: We know there their loyalty lies, kupo. Let's round them up and get them to Galmia Pepe!


Yeah that still feels weird. Anyway, did you guess how we're going to get around the law this time?


By doing as little damage as possible.


We have plenty of time to goof around, these enemies can barely scratch us.


Nightmare costs less than half the MP of Last Breath, so it's the better choice here.


This Ninja is a pain. Not because he attacked Jalia, but because he's trapped her in this corner.


And his really high Evasion and Resilience mean we can't easily shut him down.


His friends are less tenacious, thankfully.


You may not recognize Lian. He's a Gladiator right now, for reasons.


Just the Thief and the Ninja left alive at this point.


They're doing their best to disrupt us.


It's not much.


The Thief's Doom finally catches up with him, and Jalia finishes off the Fighter.


It takes six more turns before we could finally pin down this Ninja.


Thanks to Haste from Hurdy, Lian statues both of them in short order.


The Viking was immune to Stone, so Jalia has to handle him instead.


And that's how you stay under the damage limit.

: I don't think Galmia Pepe will be having any more problems with counterfeits, kupo!


Having an angry lizard turn you into a statue is a pretty good deterrent, honestly.

---


I'm trying to decide if harvesting materials for Galmia Pepe is a step up or a step down in our fashion career.


Wait a minute. Those are cassies! We saw one last update -- Carrot was a cassie!


The counterfeiters were using cassies to make their Ribbons, which were supposedly vastly inferior!



: What did that note Galmia Pepe left with us say again...?


Uh huh yeah definitely, I can totally see the difference between these free-range, cage-free cassies and the vulgar, inferior cassies the counterfeiters were using.

: I suppose a quest is a quest, but this really is going too far...


What do I care, let's slaughter some monsters in the name of fashion.


This is basically the Carrot fight again, but with more cassies and no innate regen. No traps either, which is a relief.


They still have those Love Song buffs though.


Still, we're twice the level they are, and we have Talf and Lenolia.


Malboros and weak to Wind. That's half their HP right there.


It's a shame Summoner doesn't get any of the rarer elements besides Holy, but on the other hand, she's able to hit every enemy on one turn.


I'm actually a little surprised there were no conditions for harvesting the cassies correctly. Like don't use fire, or something. After Lenolia's turn, only two cassies remain.


It's kind of funny. I dislike Hunter so much that I forgot how good Leed normally is. My reaction was, "Of course the idiot Hunter got Charmed immediately."


Probably a good thing he wasn't set up for Dual Wield Magick Frenzy, eh?


I hope you enjoyed our foray into the bloody, putrid world of fashion!

Oh man, I just saw the pun. De'vine Ribbons. Both "divine" and "de vine," as in "of the vine," and Malboros are basically vine monsters. Clever.

---

Well that was fun. Honestly, we would complain about Galmia Pepe lying about their Ribbons, but I can't argue with the efficacy of the product.


Now let's learn about weapons!


We've run into Chita few times. I believe we provided him with an assistant in an early quest, and he's popped up as an important NPC in various quests, auctions and tournaments.


Annoyingly, the quest description only says "Meet Objectives" instead of "Speed Battle."


Also we're a bit overleveled. Don't worry, that won't last!



: Take care you don't cut yourselves with them shiny blades. Ga ha ha!

: Well, ready or not, we'll beat the proper use of them weapons into ya! Y'see, some think wielding a weapon's about swinging it. Wrong. It's about -thinking- it.


Oh man I think I've been using Mayhew from Prima Donna as the generic Raptor this whole time. Oh well, I'll keep it.

: Erm... Ah... Well... Ngah! Look, I'll make it simple. It's all about focus! Without the right focus, you'll as soon cut yerself as yer foe. Got it? Focus! F-O-C-U-S! All right? Now show us what you've learned... in a speed battle!

: Why do I get the feeling this whole lecture was a setup... Never mind. Victory to the swiftest!


Quick reminder: Speed battle means whoever gets the killing blow, wins.


Why yes, I did bring a Tinker. And look, it kind of worked out!


Kind of, anyway.


This battle is more of a formality, since we're so powerful.


Yeah.



: Not bad, not bad. Looks like you took the lecture to heart! Ga ha ha! You do youngsters a credit with that.

: I'm not sure that I learned anything... though, I agree focus is important.

: Ngah...! So be it, so be it. Ga ha ha! We had fun today. See you around... Fare thee well!


Chita: "I guess these millenials aren't so bad after all."

---


- Chita, Chita's Weaponers

Lesson #2! Let us see what pearls of wisdom Chita will grant us.




Noticing a pattern with the laws? They aren't too restricting, just stopping you from using certain jobs.



: Still haven't wrapped your heads around the proper way to wield a weapon, eh? Ngah! Young 'uns these days... Don't know nothin'! I'll just have to teach you m'self!

: Now then, what's the one thing you remember when you're fighting? I'll give you a hint: determination!



: Is that the hint, or the answer?

: Kaaaaah! Slipped and gave it away, did I? Ah, but you saw right through me. Not bad, young 'uns! Ga ha ha! Right, so what you've got to remember is determination! If you don't practice with determination, may as well leave your weapons to rust!



: So it's not enough to slay these monsters. We have to do it with determination. Never mind. Victory to the swiftest!


He's not wrong. Meaningful, guided practice -- practicing with determination -- is much better than practicing aimlessly.


Anyway, it's another speed battle. Our weapon of choice right now is magick!


Also, yeah, I'm using Lightning-absorbing equipment for once. No real reason.


I'd prefer that Chita's team didn't get a single attack in, due to the nature of the speed battle. But I'm not quite that strong.


It does help that they like to waste their turns.




Talf's Wild Tornado fills Zoe with DETERMINATION, and she strikes the final blow!

: We won!

: Took my determination lecture straight to heart you did. You young 'uns have some grit to you! Ga ha!

: I don't know about taking anything to heart. But determination is important, I can't argue with that.

: Ngah...! I thought you'd say as much. Ga ha ha! We had a fun day of it, didn't we! Maybe I'll see you around... Fare thee well!



---


Are you read to become a MASTER OF WEAPONS?! Or perhaps a WEAPON MASTER?!?


Or maybe it's an advanced degree? Masters of Weaponry? Samuel Clemens, MW.


Our last speed battle today. This one will be interesting, because it'll be at our level!



: You young 'uns have spirit and then some. But don't tell me my wisdom -still- hasn't penetrated those thick skulls of yours...

: Ngah...! You're a prime example of what I've been talkin' about... I suppose it's up to me to teach you everythin' myself, as always.

: Now, the most important thing to remember in battle is--


Yes, Grath. Very important.

: This lecture may have to wait!

: Ngah! You doing to let a monster get in the way of knowledge!? Tell you what we'll do! Beat us and I'll give you the finest lecture you ever heard! This'll be a speed battle you won't forget!


Ah yes, Srrath. Another important thing to remember in battle.

: Let's just focus on bringing down that monster!




As you can see from the levels, this battle is a bit more even. For one, we aren't out-speeding Chita's team, though that might be the game cheating.


But since we're fast and close, we can surround the monster and prevent Chita from attacking it.


They do get a single attack in, since we can't reach that flank.


Unfortunately, Henri just doesn't have enough movement to join the fight.


The monster is already getting weak, but it has the next turn. After that come Jalia and Henri.


By moving Tsing out of the way, the monster is forced to move down and attack Henri.


It's a bit moot since Jalia has the next turn, but it would have almost guaranteed Chita wouldn't have been able to attack.

: Hrah, defeated! Well? We won!

: Oh ho ho! Not bad at all! My lecture on the importance of confidence really did the trick, eh? I'll make you into a force to be reckoned with or die tryin'! Gah ha ha!

: What are you cackling about? We never even got to your lecture before the battle. Importance of having confidence is your last lesson, then?

: Ngah...! Don't go blamin' me for your lack of patience! Naturally, confidence is the point of my last lecture. Gah ha ha! You can't go off to battle without confidence, now can ya?

: Without confidence, you can't focus. And if you can't focus, how can you have confidence?

: That confidence gives you determination, and your determination gives you confidence!



: Ngah...! Listen to me prattlin' on. My years are showin'! Thanks for hearin' this old codger out. Gives me hope for you young 'uns yet!


This is the blade that teaches Ultima to bangaa Gladiators and Moogle Knights. We picked one up from the Fluorgis auction a while ago.



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Thanks for reading! I hope you've enjoyed our WEAPONS MASTERY and FASHION KNOWLEDGE.

I think our next update will be a short look at some of odder clan privileges. But let's vote for the update after that now.

How about we take care of some more short quest lines? Vote for up to two of the following!

_{Yes that means you can vote for the same one twice. Why not?}

1. Teach a man to fish and feed him for life. But teach a man to quest and he'll follow arbitrary rules to get some bad gear he already owns.
2. Let's participate in the DEATH MARCH!
3. Looks like the Goug Watch needs some help dealing with mercenaries!
4. Or let's do some of the filler quests that aren't part of any quest lines.