Part 16: Episode XIII: I Am Activating No-Clip

Music: A Hidden Force



So previously on I am Setsuna, we visited a town where the local head of state turned out to be a bit of a tosser. Then we murdered a werewolf and wrecked an airship while it was still at dock. Also Setsuna managed to get herself plot injured saving a wood elf we found along the way.

...

...Why do I get the feeling we would have been better off if we had just kept on walking by this town? Oh well. Hindsight and all that. Now we’re off to get Setsuna treatment at Kir’s hometown.



Before we depart, we can speak with the fools that stood around watching while we smacked a plane engine with swords. This is the last we’ll see of Floneia Citadel for some time.

Everything I did... I did to protect this town from the monsters... to protect the people... The hearts of men are weak... and so, I cast away that weakness... So why... why do these tears fall from my eyes... Why, Father... Why...
*twitches*
This is entirely your fault. Later.

Forget about things here, and be on your way! Tut-tut! This airship ain’t flyin’ anywhere now! Everyone’s countin’ on that girl, ain’t they? You need to hurry up and help her!
I cannot believe we wasted an entire day walking dozens of miles looking for you...

That nice old man... Is he... dead?
Your first dead body, kid? Ehh... You get used to it. There’s like ten more if you head back into town.
*grim stare*

His Lordship is the one who gave me and my daughter a safe haven... He gave us hope for the future... After a long, long journey, I finally thought we’d settled here... And now... now this...
Not your day, huh? Well, g’day forever.



Well, the airship is trashed. Let’s head back into town and grab some supplies before we embark to... Err... Huh... Come to think of it, Kir didn’t mention where the hell his village was, did he?





Since we’re on a new chapter, Weppy & Talli’s has updated its inventory with a fresh supply of arms. We’re pretty flush on cash at the moment, so we can at least upgrade Endir, Aeterna, and Nidr. Spoilers: Setsuna is out of commission for the duration of this chapter. So we can hold off on her upgrade for a while to save some cash. Indeed, the next upgrade for everyone will be available before she’s back in the party. This game is... a wee bit overzealous at offering equipment upgrades.



Endir gets himself a completely brittle looking Light elemental sword. Look at that bit a third of the way up. It looks like it would shatter in half if it fell off a coffee table.



Aeterna gets an ice sculpture masquerading as a dagger. Again, this looks like it could shatter if it was knocked off a kitchen counter.



Meanwhile, Nidr just gets a helicopter propeller with a hole cut in the middle of it. What purpose does the hole serve? If only there was a weapon history tale to inform us how the center bit was carved out, melted down, and poured down the throat of a king or something metal like that. Alas...

That’s about all the shopping we need to do here. So let’s head on out to...



Again, Kir completely failed to mention our destination. But we did meet him about to get mugged by penguins back in Mysleigh Woods. So it stands to reason, we ought to head back there.


Music: Waves of Hope



And sure enough, Kir pops up to inform us that this is the correct direction. We would have felt real silly if we’d gone back to the Frost Caves or something. Not like I did that by mistake the first time I played because there was a several day gap and I was a bit tipsy the last session... That’d be ridiculous...



The gang still needs to fight their way through half of the area again. Not that the encounters are remotely threatening at this point. It’s more of a nuisance. But, once we reach bridge two of three, Kir pops into existence again to inform us...



*sweat* Path? There ain’t no path here...
Yeah, there is... a secret one.



Hey, hold up! You can’t just walk through the scenery like that. That is illegal! I am calling the police!
...I just walked past some trees. It’s a forest. You... you can do that at any time.
Psst. This could be a gremlin trick. Keep on guard.
...Right.



Sure enough, we can walk through that random patch of woods to find... well... more snowy woods. What did you expect? It’s the middle of a forest.



Heading along the newfound path, we come across an edible Ancient Indigo Box. Yeah... You got me as to what the heck sort of ingredients that’s supposed to be.



The important part is that cleared out all the Shiny Spots in the Floneia Territories and netted the party and extra 500 EXP for their efforts. That’s a nice little bonus. Thankfully, there’s no achievements or trophies tied to seeking out every Shiny Spot. Though there are a few tied to making certain recipes.



In any case, continuing along the path further, we find that blue phantom from our previous walk through the woods.


Music: The Warmth of Life



Don’t you think we better take care of him, Endir? Just to be safe...
Yeah, let’s waste him before he links to some tragic backstory or turns into a mid-boss.
Or he could turn out to be an innocuous background character that is actually a major villain.
Ugh. That’s always so lame. Alright. Let’s wreck it.
*sweats* No! I already said, don’t! He’s not causing anyone any harm!
Well, yeah... Don’t you think the way he keeps followin’ us around like this is a li’l creepy, though?
I’ve been saying that about this guy the whole time!
...I mean the ghost.
Oh. Ehh... It’s like 3/10 on the creepy scale.
Don’t worry, he won’t do anything to us... honestly. There’s... nothing we can do...



Sure enough, a few seconds later the phantom marches off and fades away harmlessly again.



I mean, that Lord Avalo was much more a “monster”... And he was a human... an intelligent being...
Being intelligent doesn’t make you any more human... And not all monsters lack intelligence, anyway...
Yeah, just tak—
Endir, stop it. Kir’s not a gremlin.
...I was going to mention the wolf baron. Who was intelligent enough to get a sweet cape and ascend to baronhood. But fine. I won’t say anything.
......
And what about us... We aren’t either...
Huh? Did you just say something?
*shakes head* No... nothing. Anyway, we need to hurry on. Setsuna looks like she’s in pain.
It is... OK... Don’t interrupt your discussion... on the nature of humanity and sapience on my account...
*turns to Setsuna* Once we get through here, it won’t be much further. Hang in there, Setsuna!
I’m fine... I’m so sorry... You said you didn’t want to go back to your village, and now...
It’s fine! You don’t need to worry about that, Setsuna. Are you all right? Can you walk?

Kir helps Setsuna out of the area while Nidr escorts them. Aeterna follows, but notices Endir is staring off into space...



Do you think he’s human?
Like I mean obviously not *human* human. But like it used to be human and is now some kind of extra-dimensional anomaly leading a tortured existence outside the realm of time and space?
No... But I can’t be certain. It was only faint, but for a moment I thought I could sense something human about him...
...That’s a really mixed signal response.
What do you want out of me? I don’t know!
*turns toward the horizon* Either way, though... It seems Kir knows something.
...
......
...Do you think that’s his Stand?
I’m walking away now, Endir.


New Music: Walking the Walk



Alright, we’re now out of the Floneia Territories and into the Northern Frontier. Turns out it’s still snowy. Who’d a thunk?





There’s only a short patch of barren wasteland between with some Shiny Spots and not a whole lot else going on before we reach a new mountain range. No convenient cavern tunnel system to bypass this time. We’re gonna have to do some good ol’ fashion mountain climbing up the Morbrise Mountain.


New Music: Secret Passage



*looks around* Looks like we’ve hit a dead end... You sure there’s really a village here? You haven’t gotten us lost, have ya?
Just be quiet and follow me.



Okay, see your reaction before with the hidden path, Endir? NOW is the appropriate time for that.
Dammit! See what happens when you let a gremlin travel with you? Now our whole journey is tainted by flagrant cheat code use!
...I’m not even sure what that means. But no.
Hmm? What is this, magic?
It’s to stop creeps like you from getting in, old man!



*shocked* Who’re you callin’ a creep!? Damn smart-ass...
Come on, let’s go! It’s not far to the village now.



Sure enough, we can just turn on No Clip and phase through this rock face to continue onward. You’d think the blizzard swept mountain would be enough of a deterrent on its own.



That’s not to say crappy weather is the only hazard on Morbrise Mountain. We do have some new enemies to contend with on the climb. Well... “new” enemies...



The Pengy have finally gotten an upgrade after being so weak as to be incapable of hurting our party for a solid chapter now. Meet the Hoppy – it’s a black shaded version of ‘em with angry eyebrows like American Kirby.



Clearly the eyebrows make it far more aerodynamic in addition to raising the rest of its stats. The Hoppy has all the abilities of its predecessor with one new addition.



It can basically do a Penguin Psycho Crusher. It’s not super damaging. But the trauma of having a penguin do a flying head-butt at them lingers with adventurers for years to come.



Joining the Hoppy on the mountain, we have one actually new monster: the Roly-Poly. It’s that large snowball being pushed by a twin-tailed squirrel. It took me a few fights to realize what the hell these were, since they introduced the first few of ‘em from the front, so it just looked like a sentient snowball.



Speaking of snowballs, Roly-Poly are rude boys and will bean our party members with a snowball while safely hiding behind their icy orb. This is somehow more damaging than a penguin hurling its entire body at us. But that’s not their only trick.



These jerkass squirrels can showboat by riding atop their snowballs as it spins in place. This display of acrobatics make them able to completely evade physical attacks for the duration of their snow orb mounting. They... can’t actually do any other attacks during this time. It’s solely to be a dick. And I can respect that.



Those two monsters aside, this is the only landmark on the way up the mountain. This looks kinda familiar, but I can’t quite place it...



Beyond that, it’s just a rather uneventful spree of murdering penguins and squirrels until we reach the end of the trail, where...



Hmm? I’ve never seen any monsters like that before...
That’s...



It’s one of those squirrels pushing a snowball. We’ve killed like eight of them. My pocket is overflowing with snowballs dropped from ‘em.
...Why are you stuffing snowballs into your pockets?
Those weirdos at the Magic Consortium will buy anything. I’m not going to question it.
...Okay. But no. This one is different. It’s freaky looking.
They’re “Spritnite-Eaten Monsters.” You see them every so often... When monsters are exposed to powerful spritnite for too long, it affects their bodies... They’re much stronger than regular monsters, so if you’re not careful you can easily end up badly hurt.
I see... Well, let’s just stay well clear of ‘em, then. What would anyone bother messin’ with monsters like that for?
Well, you’d be surprised... Apparently they drop very rare materials, so some reckless people do attempt to defeat them...
*sweat* What? N-no thanks...
Endir. It’s up to you if you want to fight them. But as a member of Setsuna’s guard, her safety needs to be your top priority.
You said Setsuna’s injuries weren’t life threatening, she’s just kinda messed up until she gets ‘em fixed right?
Well, yes. That’s the case. But...
*draws sword* Let’s kick its ass!
*sweats* Wait shouldn’t we cons—and he’s gone. Why did you give him the choice to go fight that thing?
*sigh* Failed attempt at reverse psychology. Let’s go help him...


New Music: Fantastical Encounter (It’s a punched up version of the main battle theme. Shame it barely ever gets used.)



Meet the Glowly-Poly, the first of the rare Spritnite-Eaten Monsters we can encounter. These are mostly dark palette swaps of standard creatures with either really high stats or special gimmicks to set them apart from their contemporaries. For instance, Glowly-Poly here only has 38 HP (a normal Roly-Poly has over 100.) However, it has absurdly high evasion... normally. You see, it’s doing a handstand on its snowball now.



This bout of supreme showmanship gives it evasion against ALL attacks while it’s performing this feat. Physical, magic, AOE, you name it. It literally cannot be hit while doing a handstand. All we can do there is stand there in awe at its athleticism.





Eventually it will tire out and return to the ground for about 30-40 seconds before returning to hand standing. During this period, it can throw the occasional snowball. But that only hits for the 60ish HP the normal Roly-Poly will do.





The entire gimmick of this fight is just praying RNG sides in our favor and we can actually land *any* attack on the monster. As we are now, this might have taken a good two and a half minutes for me to finally land a blow.


Music: Astounding Victory



However, for our efforts we get a whopping 1000 EXP. For reference, that’s twice as much experience as we received for the entire town guard fight gauntlet and both bosses at the end of the last chapter combined.





It’s worth mentioning that Spritnite-Eaten Monsters are NOT a one-shot battle. They respawn when we return to the area. And it just so happens that the end of this map is right around the corner. As such, it’s REALLY easy to come back here and farm Glowly-Poly for experience if need be. Indeed, I’ll probably come back here when Setsuna recovers and Kir inevitably joins, just to quickly get them to acceptable levels with the rest of the party in a jiffy.



We find ourselves unceremoniously dumped back on the overworld map. No big boss fight on the way out. Just that Sprite-Eaten Monster optional bit.



If we continue a little ways to the northwest, we find a path leading into the forest to the town of Hiddbury. This had better be Kir’s hometown already...



Sure is a quiet village, ain’t it?
No... it’s too quiet...
What do you mean?
The rest of the gremlins out on a raiding party against a rival clan?
! Don’t tell me the monsters have...
Monsters? We’re inside a village...
Don’t you folks have anti-monster zoning permits for the town?
Tch. Figures gremlins know nothing of the ways of filing proper paperwork.
Our village has been under attack by ferocious monsters for decades now.
Decades?
Great. I’m glad we brought the sacrifice here.
Didn’t you ever fight back?
*shakes head* No, never... This village never fights back...
Hey! Hey! HEY!
...Fat Albert?


Music: Lighthearted



*waves* Brother Kir!
*waves* Kir!

The kids run down to greet Kir as the party approaches...



The monsters were here all day today, Kir! They wouldn’t go away!
So we kept on hiding! Then the next thing we knew... we fell asleep!
Fast asweep!
I see... Well, I’m so glad to see you’re safe.
You have returned, Kir.



Holy smokes! Is that frikkin’ Jak?!
Long time no see, Hydor...
Hey, where’s Daxter?
...Who is this Jak?


New Music: The Enchanted Sanctuary



Aww...
I take it your return does not mean that you have changed your mind... Do I assume correctly?
We’ll talk about that later. Right now there’s something I need your help with.
That young lady, I presume... I see... The effects of spritnite... It is causing temporary functional inhibition.
*sweats* So what’s that in plain language?
Severe constipation.
......
But more pressingly...
It means that the magical energy she was exposed to is now eating away at her flesh. The harmful effects of the spritnite have infected her body, and must be neutralized. If they are not, aftereffects may remain.
Explosive diarrhea for days. Like a great geyser from the earth, but of fecal matter.
Yeeesh! Too much info, chief.
Setsuna shielded me from the spritnite’s explosion. Please, Hydor... You can cure her, right?
*shakes head* I cannot... I retain the little magic energy that I do in order to help our fellow villagers... It cannot be used on those from outside the village.
You’re kidding me! Nothing’s changed at all... Fine... Fine! I know what I’ll do! I don’t care how much magical energy I have. I’m gonna use it for what I want! It’s my choice, so there’s nothing you can do about it!
......
*turns and shrugs* You may do what you wish.
Aughh! Dammit!
I’m fine... Please...

Hydor walks back into his hut...



*distant stare* That all doesn’t sound... that bad...
......
Don’t worry. I’ll do something.
There’s a way?
We need to go track down some Precursor Orbs or something? What do we need to do?
We’ll use the spritnite veins.
Spritnite... veins...?
That’s right. They flow through the earth around here. Spritnite veins are like currents of magical energy that run under the earth’s surface. We can use their power to cure Setsuna... But first of all, we need to find one that’s strong enough.
None of that sounds remotely safe. But I guess we have no choice.
We’ll help. What do we need to do?
Spritnite veins react to people’s magical energy and give off light...
*looks around* What we need to do is find the place in the village where that light is the strongest!
So somewhere that gives off a strong light... All right, got it.



Alright, then. Tune in next time when we scout Kir’s hometown for a vein of Mako Energy we can dunk Setsuna into to heal her up. Hopefully she won’t end up a wheelchair bound invalid mumbling about Xenogears...







Hydor Concept Art – C’mon. He even has the Jak 2 facial hair.