Part 100: Side Story: Arena Aspirations

Music: Victors Hollow, Jewel of the Forest



Today's side story involves a disillusioned soldier and a child who admires him. Why does this sound familiar...?



I've fought a thousand battles if I've fought one, an' I'm tired of heavin' this blade. But there's a fool lad who's gone an' made me his hero, an' wants to be a fighter like me.





So we're dealing with an experienced swordsman with a tragic past. Alright, then.



I've a mind to get a sword and be like him when I'm a man grown!





This kid, meanwhile, just loves fighters and the art of combat. I guess growing up in Victors Hollow does that to a kid.



I fair believed his parents raised him wiser than that...





The boy's aunt is on the same page as the swordsman in wanting to stop her nephew from becoming a fighter.

This is another quest that has two options, and one that even the spreadsheet doesn't show! So...

-----

METHOD ONE



The boy has never seen the swordsman lose a fight, so having him lose could disillusion the boy.

That said, a nine-star fight is...not trivial. I'm frankly lucky that Olberic can Challenge him to begin with, as I really wouldn't want to try this guy with H'aanit...



Music: Battle II



This guy is not easy. I pretty much stick with the PhysDef buff whenever I can, as this guy can hit four-digits even with it. Otherwise, his regular attacks do 500-700ish, and I have plenty of evasion to miss some attacks.



The only thing that can break the guy that I have easy access to is Icicle, sadly enough, so I have to alter my strategy a little. Apothecary's a life-saver for duels, literally for First Aid since it heals over a thousand HP for just 4SP. But it also has Empoison, which doesn't do 1/6 Max HP as usual, but still deals decent enough damage that it's my main tactic here.



Eventually, I outlast him.

SILENCE



S-Sir! Are you hurt!?
...



...
Don't look at me like that lad... Ye only make me wretchedness more bitter. Hark to me, lad.

Music: Enveloped in Kindness



B-but...
Ye've got a gentle soul, an' wits about ye, too. Sellswordin' ain't no life for ye. Find a trade where ye can do good, an' better the lives of other folk.



...!



...Ah, 'twas harsh, but for the best. Thanks to ye, the lad may have seen reason at last. Gods be good, he'll no longer be yearnin' to spill blood for a livin'.



Music: Victors Hollow, Jewel of the Forest



And so we seem to have done what is best for everyone.



The lad'll find his own way, as he grows to be a man.



This whole thing also seemed to give a bit of new purpose to the old sword. Just look at the fella's new name!



'Tis a weight off my mind, for it is an honorable--and safe--trade.

It sure is, just ask Alfyn!



Then I can look after the old fighter an' make sure his wounds get looked after proper.

Funny thing, the boy still looks up to the swordsman despite all that. Mayhap there's a better way to handle things...

-----

METHOD TWO



What if instead we told the swordsman about the boy's father, which we learned from the aunt?

SILENCE



So the lad's father was a swordsman, was he? Ah. A sad tale, when a man's felled and leaves a young widow an' her son to fend for 'emselves.



S'ppose the lad saw his father in me, us both bein' men of the sword.



Music: The Cliftlands



He needed a father, and reckoned that could be me. Maybe he weren't wrong at that...



S-Sir...
Come here, lad. Out of them shadows an' into the sun where I can see ye.



Look ye. I've a better thing to teach ye...





'Swounds, but ye're a stubborn one! I teach ye horses or I teach ye nothin'--you got that?



The boy's admiration for fighters stems from the tales he heard of his father, so mayhap the swordsman can fill that hole.

Music: Victors Hollow, Jewel of the Forest



...But nay. It'd take a better man than what I am.



Maybe the two will help each other grow into better men.



He has a new friend who sets a fine example.



In the end, everyone truly feels much better off.

How fitting, then, that we go from our adventures with a swordsman to...



Olberic! Next time, we'll dive into his Chapter 3 and see if we'll finally find Erhardt.

Also I can't believe I'm at a hundred updates already and still not even halfway done with this LP, this is already longer than the majority of the games I've covered...