Part 26: Death and Deception
3Yr. 4Mo. 2Wk.
The deed is done. The beast slain.
Natsu was first out of the gate with a vicious Break Shoot. He was too big to knock into the air, but Natsu still managed to nearly fold his lower lip over his skull.
Unfortunately, he was ready for the second attack, blocking it with that great claw of his.
Then he let loose with a mighty blow from the other fist...
...but when the dust cleared, I could see that Natsu had cleanly dodged it.
He needed a moment to catch his breath, so iScream leapt in and attacked the beast. He wasn't able to penetrate that iron defense, but he distracted him from the true threat...
Chucky maneuvering into position to do what he does best: rip monsters apart.
Under their combined assault, the Gaboo's monster claw began to smoke and vibrate...
...and then it exploded, hurling him backward into the rock face behind him. His massive frame juddered once, then was still.
Rio looked at me like I was the villain. Maybe I was. At least now it's over; he won't be making any more explorers vanish.
As I suspected, Mr. Karnab had a little something for us once the deed was done. Unfortunately, all he sent was an invitation; apparently he wants to speak to us in person. No matter. We did what we set out to do, and once the official tournaments are over, we'll find out what this is about.
3Yr. 5Mo. 2Wk.
Natsu ran into this bad boy at the Grade C bout. Freaky-looking. Wonder what its subtype is?
No matter; Break Shoot took it down like it takes everything else down.
What's the last thing that goes through your head when Titan hits you?
His ass.
Then iScream had his bell rung by this... thing.
Literally. Oh, don't get me wrong, he still won, but it was a leetle closer than I might have liked.
At any rate, with the tournaments over, I finally had a chance to talk to Mr. Karnab. While I was in town, though, I stopped by the library to get some documents translated...
- Cox's File 2: Eventually, the Tochika shared their monster training skills with the general population. For this they were revered by many people, and this likely explains why they were worshipped as deities in later generations. =P.J. Cox=
- 「Origins」: Monsters that appear the same sometimes take slightly different forms, depending on their area of origin. For example, take a Tsunomaru, a monster born from the combination of Suezo and Tiger. Depending on where the Saucer Stone was found, and other differences leading up to it's birth, the Tsunomaru may be born with or without horns. It is not known whether this is a factor determined by regional differences, or a difference in the Saucer Stone itself.
Speaking of regional differences... this monster is called a Hornie in this game, and a Horn in previous games in which it's appeared. Apparently the translators missed localizing its name here.
I also took the time to stock up on food, sell off various bits of dungeon debris, and goggle at a print they had for sale. This is art?
As I'd hoped, Karnab had a Rank B certificate for me, which opens some more doors.
That's not the big news, though. The big news is what happened when Rio told Karnab about what we ran into in the jungle.
He angrily denied having anything to do with altering monsters, then made his excuses and left.
While Rio talked to Philia, I considered the implications. Karnab's the one who sent us to the jungle in the first place, looking for "junk". We found that claw, not unlike the one on the Gaboo, which he seemed satisfied with.
At the time, I was too busy raging about being played to pay much attention to how he felt. But what if it wasn't just a personality test? What if the game is deeper and darker than that?
Philia said we might find out more about what happened to that monster in a more high-tech city. It sounds like I have two reasons to go there now...