Part 11: It's Optional Mission Time!

Part 10: It's Optional Mission Time!

(As the title says, this entire section can be skipped. The three missions here aren't part of the main storyline. Two are needed to recruit the "hidden" characters, and another is for the ongoing Cat Girl Quest. But first, to somewhere totally different!)


Rolandia Soldier: General Wallace! The left flank has penetrated the enemy defenses! We've killed the enemy commander!
: At last! We can't give the enemy time to regroup. Push further into the interior with reinforcements!
Rolandia Soldier: Yes, sir!
: If we can attack with a crushing blow they'll be forced to surrender, and casualties on both sides will be minimized.
Rolandia Soldier: I understand, sir!


Burnstein Soldier: The commander was killed by an arrow!
Burnstein Soldier 2: This is hopeless!
: Silence! Hesitation and disarray is what the enemy is hoping to cause!
Burnstein Soldier: B...but...
: There is no "but"! We must regroup the Squadrons at once!
Burnstein Soldier 2: Y...yes, sir!
: Begin with the 3rd Squadron...
(Seems like Burnstein's having some trouble here. Hope things don't get worse.)



: And, Citizens of Ranzack! Listen to my call. I am Wolfgang, leader of the Grandzenschtraum! In the past, once your battles have ended and you have no use for mercenaries, you have cast us aside...detested us. Now, I declare the Lost Forest south of Grandshill the Kingdom of the Grandzenschtraum, land of the mercenaries. Those that resist our kingdom will soon regret the folly of their actions. Mercenaries and those cast off from cruel society...gather your strength under the flag of Grandzenschtraum!
(...Let's get back to our party now, shall we?)


(If we went to the Castle, we'd end the section. We definitely don't want to do that.)


(This guy gives us Story #12 for capturing the impostor.)


(In Rottenbaum, we can refer this kid to Starkberg to open an armor shop.)



Villager 4: Go...RUN!
Villager: We'll protect the storehouse!
Villager 2: Go! Run for your lives!


Villager: We will defend that building with our lives! It contains valuables that the Magic Academy collected from the ruins! We will not abandon our duty to protect it.
: Fair enough. Your senseless death is preordained, then.
Villager 2: Just you try it!


: Captain, look!
: It's...Arieta?
: Oooughh! Them again? Yungs, attack!
Yung 6: Grahhh!
Yung 5: Guh...guh...grahhh!
: What is she doing here?
Villager: That storehouse is packed with magical artifacts the Academy gave us to guard.
: Magic Academy treasures? What could she be planning to do with them?


Dailymotion | Viddler
(This is the hardest mission yet. The party starts at the complete opposite end of the map from where all the enemies are. For Mission Complete, no villagers can die, and Arieta must be killed before she opens the storehouse. The villagers usually die in one hit, two if they're lucky. The worst part of this map is the tiny path connecting the top and bottom. It's very easy to get your characters stuck there, and ending up with a villager between them and a Yung.

If anyone's interested in the scenes of Arieta getting into the storehouse, I can put them up, because I failed this mission the first time. If you have a Lv4 Dispel gem (prevents all magic from affecting the wearer) on anyone, Arieta won't cast any magic at all. Because she's not stopping to cast magic, she's always moving to the storehouse. So while protecting yourself from magic is helpful, you need her to be pausing to cast magic so you have enough time to take out the Yungs.

For the third battle in a row, the long range characters shine. Riviera takes out the low level Yungs up top, Charlone is able to snipe Arieta from the lowest part of the map, and Hans can hit her from the middle elevation. By the time the Yungs are defeated, it's pretty much too late to get Wein and Xenos up to hit her, and Riviera's magic doesn't do much damage, so it's up to Hans to do most of the damage to Arieta. Other important gems I put on people were a Lv4 Magic Lv on Charlone instead of a Dispel to give her two extra levels of magic (Riviera always has one of these on), and a Lv6 Quickness on slow Xenos for an extra 60% of MOV.)



(The worst thing about these optional missions is the low Exp they give out )


: Stop fighting us! I don't want to kill you, but I will if you do not surrender!
: Captain, consider her actions! We can't trust anything she says!
: Well...duh, Charlo! Could that be any more obvious? Hello?
: Then we both agree...Wein's not thinking clearly.
: I strive to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
: Yes, but in this case, your decision making is clouded by your emotions, boy.
: What?
: I believe that this girl is in love with you, and you have strong feelings for her as well.
: Who are you?
: You know that I am Arieta!
: No! You're not the Arieta I knew!
: You say that as if you're certain, even though I know you're not. Perhaps I'm the real Arieta, and the one you seem to know is the impostor!


: That can't be true, I know you're not Arieta!



: Wein, you're hurting me! Let go!
: Oh, I'm sorry...


: Sereb, come! Hah! You're too naive for your own good. But, your weakness is my key to escape. Farewell!
: Captain...
: I'm sorry...you...you were right. This is all my fault.
: I don't get it. She looked like Arieta, but she acted like she was possessed or...something. Bleagh...creeeepy.
: ...



(The injured man asks what the voice that "spoke of independence" was, and Wein tells him it was Wolfgang. The man then says he believes that Wolfgang is the person who killed Wein's father, but doesn't remember anything more than that.)



Narrator: Lacking a key to unlock the force field, Wein reluctantly left the ruins. Today, the mask remains here, undisturbed.



: It seems to be as I left it before...
: Aside from the monsters, there is nothing of interest here.
: We should probably get rid of the monsters, huh?


Storm#3: I knew I smelled humans! Why won't you leave me alone and let me spend my life with my new friends?! Wait! Don't answer that...I don't care! Get them!
Monster 4: Leave it to me, Storm#3!
Monster 3: Don't call her that, or she'll get real mad!
Storm#3: I'm already mad, but I'll punish you later!
Monster 4: I...I'm sorry...I'll defeat these intruders extra-quick to make it up to you!
Storm#3: What are you doing?! If you do that, I'll be crushed, too!
Monster 4: I'll take care of them for you.
: Time to start the fur flying...


Dailymotion | Viddler
(For Mission Complete, no monsters must be killed by the spiked wall. Yes, we have to avoid the moving spiked wall just like back in mission 3. The gem set up is the same for this mission as it was for the last one, even though this is an easier mission layout wise. The Piranhatazoa and Armored Crab monsters are both weak to fire magic.)


(To keep the quest going, Wein must get close to the cat girl in battle to speak with her...)


(So that when she's defeated, this choice pops up. She'll still yell at us run away, though.)



(Low experience )


(Yes, yes we did. With all this time we've spent battling, Ariost should be done his experiment...)



: Excuse me.
: Ah, Wein! Come in, come in!
: Have you managed to craft a replica of the armored warrior?
: Certainly I have! And it turns out that my hypothesis was correct after all!


: With this device, I can convert electrical impulses in my head into power waves that are transmitted to the receiver in the armored helmet. But of course, a visual will put the point across much more effectively. Here...watch.
: What do you mean?
: This armor is filled with sand. However, I have supplemented it with a liquid catalyst to aid command transmission.




Mysterious Armor: By using the device, I am controlling the armor's movement.
: That's amazing...
Mysterious Armor: The transmission device limits my field of vision, but I think that can be improved...with only a few modifications.


: You probably noticed during the demonstration, but I think it's important to point out that while controlling the armor, my body was defenseless. That is the Achilles heel of the device, if you will.
: What would happen if the device were to be destroyed, then?
: Since the transmitter causes motor disconnect between the controller's brain and body, destroying the remote armor would be bad indeed. It would cause the controller to be unable to command his own body. He or she would die.
: It seems very risky.
: I would agree with that assessment. Fascinating, but risky. In theory, it should be easier to defeat, though, because the main point of vulnerability is the head, rather than the whole body. I've gathered enough data, so I'm turning the device over to you, now.
: Really?
: Certainly! You funded the research...it's yours. Of course, I won't be giving you the special sand required to make it work remotely...
: Then, what good is it without that?
: No, you see...the sand is regulated by the Magic Technology Control Act. It is forbidden to remove it from the Academy. I am sorry.
: There's no way to make this work as intended then, is there?


: Oh no, no, no! It's not as if the device is useless! You could put the receiver on an animal and use the transmitter to control that animal's movements in a crude but effective manner! Of course, the unfortunate side effect of that is...the animal will die.
: I'll bear that in mind...
(With our "useless" device in hand (that we can actually choose to never pick up), let's go see about those mercenaries that are trying to take over, after a brief stop.)



: ...like when I met Arieta in the Grasslands over there...Arieta...


: I need to talk to you!
: What is it?


: So, it's as I suspected after all? Is she being controlled by someone else?
: What you saw was the manifestation of Gevas.
: Gevas?
: Yes. Do you remember when Gevel's assault came almost one year ago?
: Who could forget that? Thanks to him, Burnstein was in chaos!
: Gevel was a living weapon, brought forth by lifeforms long ago for one purpose...destruction. Native lifeforms of that other world called Gev were put into host shells with incredible destructive power.
: Gevel and Gevas are similar. What's the connection?
: Gevas is the master or originator of Gevel. Its strength so far exceeds that of Gevel, there's no point in attempting comparison.
: It's stronger than Gevel? Didn't Carmaine defeat Gevel with the aid of the Growsians? Now somehow the one that spawned Gevel has come...and you're saying that Arieta is hosting it?
: Exactly. Gevas could not be destroyed. So the ruler of the Growsians extracted the force of Gevas and divided the power between his two strongest Growsians.
: That's amazing! So you think that Arieta possesses part of the "soul" of Gevas, if you will?
: Yes.
: But what of Venzern?



: Hmmm. Then Arieta is being consumed by the part of Gevel that remains...the being called Gevas?
: Exactly. The fusion of her soul and Gevas is not yet complete, but she will end up as Venzern soon if the process is not stopped.
: I...I can't let that happen!
: Then we are in agreement. I therefore have a favor to ask you in that regard.
: Favor?


: Kill her? What are you talking about! That's insane!
: There is no choice. If she remains alive, Gevas will be reborn. He is only vulnerable while in his human host.
: So I have to kill her...er, it, while it's within Arieta? You're asking me to kill your master, your...friend! No wonder the words hurt you! They're poison!
: This is the wish of Arieta. She knows the danger. She asked me to come to you.
: But...
: Please. It is the only way...stop her suffering before it infects the whole world.
: Sereb! He wants me to...kill her?
(This is a JRPG! There has to be another way! I mean, this is the last Arieta scene and all...Let's keep going.)




: Wolfgang, this is insanity. You can't possibly succeed!
: Who are you to judge my ambition?! I can't expect a knight bred of a structured system to understand the thoughts of a mercenary. We have no loving family, no comfortable castles to come home to after the blood of conflict stops flowing. My ambition is to make such a place...for us.
: You're fooling yourself to think that Burnstein and Rolandia will fall for this!
: I cannot be concerned with that they may or may not do, only with what I will do.
: But you'll never take enough territory to...
: The area from Southern Rolandia to here is already under the control of mercenaries allied with us. You don't know what you're talking about!


: What have I done? If only I'd been there!
: I have shown you the future of this land. Join with me ,Wein, and claim your destiny!
: First you frame me, now you want me to work with you? You'll excuse me if I question your intent.
: That was coincidence, nothing more. It was determined that a person commanded by Minister Schneider directly would be the best target. You fit the bill.
: Why did you start this war, then?
: We were attacked by the armies of Rolandia and Burnstein. It was time for us to take a stand.
: Regardless of the ethics, your strategy was tremendously effective.
: Hey! That sounded like a compliment!
: Having been a mercenary myself, I can understand their position, even though I may not agree with it.
: So, Wein...what's your decision? Since the troops of both Rolandia and Burnstein are exhausted, our campaign should find success soon.


(This is not a trick option where if you pick "yes let me join!" you get laughed at and you still fight him. Choosing to join Wolfgang leads to the "Wolfgang Path" that I will take after we beat the game on the main path. It's a bit shorter than the main path, you get a character that never joins on the main path, and do some very interesting battles. But for now, Wein is going to stay as a good guy.)


: I am a knight of Burnstein. I shall defend the kingdom of Burnstein with my life!
: Hmm. What a pity. I guess that means it's time for our talk to end and the battle to begin. Take them down...all of them!
Squad Leader: They're not goin' anywhere!
: Wait! Wolfgang! ...Ungh...!


Dailymotion | Viddler
(For Mission Complete we can't take the easy way out and run away. The best way to take care of getting rid of the enemies here is to gang up on them. However, your mages must be protected, so Xenos gets to take on three guys by himself to protect Charlone. Also, the two enemy mages on the gate are too high up to be reached by ranged attacks, so they must be blasted with magic. A couple of archers come in as reinforcement late on, but they're slow enough to not be a problem. I was stupid and didn't follow my own advice and split everyone up, and ended up having both Riviera and Wein die the first time I tried this. )



( )
: Reinforcements are coming...we can't stay here!
: Right. We should report these developments to King Eliotte at once!
(With the final optional mission of this section done, we can finally go back to the castle)


: Hm?
: Captain Wein...?
: Yes, what's wrong?
: ...
: Charlone?
: I...I just wanted to tell you...
: Tell me what?
: Just that...well, I was glad when you turned down Wolfgang's offer. I was worried you might accept it. If you had accepted it, I would have been forced to oppose you, and I...I didn't want to do that.
: Why would you have even doubted for a moment? I would never leave you like that!
: Really? Promise me...


Next Update: Another assignment from the King

Current Relationship Status
Everyone: At 10, but that'll change soon!