Part 108: 01/15/10 - 01/17/10: Adamah The Earth Below (Part Two: World Balance)

Can you believe we're halfway through the month already? How time flies when we're faced with impending doom.



Since most days are as good as any other, we'll probably be done with the remaining half of January relatively quick too. Especially since we've only got Aigis and Mitsuru to spend time with now.

Speaking of which, today is a Friday. This removes half of our remaining options, so...

Joy



> The dogs seem angry.

You're the ones that I often see at the shrine...

Brown Dog: Bark! Bark!

Huh... Koromaru-san?
We did that!?

Big Dog: Woof! Woof, woof!



oh no is koro okay???

It's true that he's helping us in our battle... However--!

Small Dog: Yap yap yap!

No...
...Oh, right. Um, these dogs are Koromaru-san's old friends.
They doubt our intentions regarding Koromaru-san, since he has been more frequently injured lately.

Blame the internet, not me. They keep voting him in to fight bosses!

How can we make them understand...?
Just try explaining.
This is all a misunderstanding, everyone!

Brown Dog: Grrrrr....

> They don't seem to want to listen...





Brown Dog: *whimper*

Oh...
I'm so sorry. My hand is hard...

Brown Dog: *whine*





No wonder they doubt me. They are confused, since my body is not natural...
I hope that dog isn't hurt.



Although my heart may become more human, my body will forever be mechanical...
Of course, that's how I was designed.
But... I'm not strong enough to be a weapon, and I'm too rigid to pass as a human.
I'm neither fish nor fowl... Not completely machine nor human...
.....
That's not true.
But...!
......
Oh... I'm sorry, Makoto-san...
...Thank you very much.
You're right. Even if I can't quite explain it, I have to be true to myself.
.....



...I'm sorry for saying such things.
If I hadn't been created, I would never have met everyone... and that includes you.
If I can stay by your side, then nothing should faze me...

> You sense faint affection from Aigis...





It would be bad if you were placed in danger again.
I'll see you later... Excuse me.

> You parted with Aigis and went back to the dorm.

Living With Determination -Iwatodai Dorm-



Eh, nah, that's alright. We've still got time.



So, I'll say this again...
We are still moving toward the future, and we won't let Nyx stand in our way.



Didn't someone else say something similar?
It was Ms. Toriumi.
Huh? Who's that?
Your teacher...?
I see...
...It was Ikutsuki.
Oh, that's right. It was Ikutsuki-san.
Do you think it was just a coincidence?

Considering the way he was rambling about it during that long "oh by the way, I'm evil!" scene, pretty sure it's not a coincidence.



And the most popular searches on the Internet are "Nyx", "cult", and "end of the world".
Isn't that strange...? Why are people looking forward to the Fall?
Because it's interesting.
Even if it is interesting, I think people are going too far...
There's a number of people who have already given up the will to live...



Don't they know that Strega's all behind it...?
Can't they see through all of Strega's negative teachings?

No, Junpei, the people who don't know who Strega are can't tell that Strega is behind the cult. Weird, I know.



I knew it!

Newscaster: To ward off Apathy Syndrome, wear your shirt inside-out! You never know... It might work...

So, yeah, we're not quite gonna go to Tartarus just yet.



But it'll be fine, I'm sure. There's nothing to worry about.



Since today's a Friday, we COULD spend it with either Mitsuru or Aigis. But spending it with Aigis is technically more efficient, so...

Joy



Have you seen a kittycat around here?



I'm so worried about where she could have gone...
She's almost as old as I am, so I doubt she could have gotten very far.
A white, spotted cat... Did you see one, Makoto-san?

Really no point in lying here.

No, I haven't.
I see... I'm in a tizzy... I hope my little Mewlie is eating all right.
Thank you for your help. I'll try looking elsewhere.



If you don't mind, Makoto-san... Could we help her look?
It seems the old lady will suffer greatly if they remain separated for much longer.
All right.
Yes!
Hmmm, what's the phrase usually used in situations like these...?



...That's it!

Eh, close enough.



She could be so hungry by now that "her stomach and spine are only a minute away."
Or is that "an instant away"...?
...Anyway, we should hurry.



Pretty simple searching montage of sorts here.



Kinda. Not much actual searching going on, though.



Just a lot of standing on one spot looking back and forth.



I can sense hostile reactions, such as Shadows, but this...
I'm useless... aren't I?
I'm sorry. I was the one who began this search...



......
It's getting dark. We should return to the dorm for today.
Thank you very much, Makoto-san.
It makes me happy that you took the time to indulge me in this.

> Aigis is smiling...





I'm sorry... and after you invited me out, too...

> You decided to go back to the dorm separately.

Living With Determination -Iwatodai Dorm-



It's been repeated a few times by now, so yeah. It's showcasing a pretty simple idea that we won't let Nyx be the end and all, but it's repetitive and having more than one thing would help more.



Even if I wanted to, Natsuki-chan's voice would bring me back to reality.
As long as I have friends, there's no need for me to join the cult.



Do you have any friends besides us who don't believe in the cult?
Yes, I do.
That's reassuring.



He didn't believe in the future...
So perhaps he also thought like Strega.
But, this is just speculation. The dead cannot speak in their own defense, and the truth is lost in the darkness...

By all accounts, Mitsuru's grandpa was a complete nutjob, much like Ikutsuki, so he would totally be down with Strega and co. here. A lot of what is happening is kinda his fault, as you might recall, but we'll cover that a bit more in due time. It gets, uh, special and is only ever expanded on in supplementary materials.



Newscaster: One student who brought a BB rifle to the testing center sent a panic through the crowd...

Why would you do that what



Been a while, so let's take Koromaru out for a walk and hey look at that, Mitsuru can come too.

Joy





...Perhaps the temperature isn't the only reason I feel a chill.
Well, our course is clear. We have to believe in ourselves and our comrades, and push forward.
Let's do this together...
Thanks for getting me out of doors today.

That's a really clunky and weird way of saying that. It sure feels like a bizarrely overly-literal translation of something, at least, which has mostly been avoided otherwise.

I've been tense, what with the college entrance exams to deal with...

> You spoke with Mitsuru for a while.



Well, I suppose it is getting cold, so let's get on home.



Sadly, Sundays have kinda become like any other day except way more boring. Nothing for us to do on 'em unless something specific comes up.

Living With Determination -Iwatodai Dorm-



There's still some updated in-dorm dialogue at least.

Dude, that'll be us before you know it.
I'm not lookin' forward to it, though.



It sounds tough, but what choice do we have...?

Yeah, not much upstairs today. There's always the TV of course!





And NOW I'm pretty sure Phoenix Ranger Featherman R is wrapping up. You don't introduce Giant King Torture at the midway point of a series, after all.

But, yeah, that's it until the evening when Akihiko and Mitsuru are obviously gonna be back from More Exams so...



But for some reason, when I look at Chidori's drawing, I feel more courageous.
Ever since she sacrificed herself, I've seen life in a whole new way... I won't let anyone take that away.
Wow, Junpei-san... I always thought of you as a slacker...
But now, you seem even more determined than Sanada-senpai.
Hey, isn't it a little early to be saying that?
We'll see how long it lasts...



But now he's gone, and the rest is up to me...
No matter what, I'm gonna put an end to this.
Yes... for Shinjiro-san's sake...
We can do it, Akihiko-senpai! Let's get Nyx together!
Woof! Woof!
Yeah...



But, you guys have given me the greatest thing of all--friendship.
So, I won't give up... I'll make sure the Dark Hour disappears.
You said it, dude! I'm counting on you!
I'm sure Shinji is happy too, so hold on to that feeling.

Anyway, something more important than all these platitudes...



Tartarus, of course! Gonna be going with these folks this time around.

tartarus_0d06



There ARE some new Shadows this time, thankfully.



Managed to find some new armor for the boys that's got decent defense, but isn't cosmetic so who cares. Only available in Adamah prior to the World Balance, as a rare chest item, which is something at least. Probably just gonna sell it though.



On Floor 234, Fuuka manages to find where the World Balance is.

Yes, 234. You read that right. Thanks, Fuuka.

Rather notably, this didn't give us a rank up in Judgement. Sure, okay.

Mass Destruction / Wiping All Out



So, let's take a look at our new Shadows. Not too many of 'em this time around, and they're almost all a lower level than the Onmen Musha from before.

Like the Silver Dice, here. Immune to phys to mostly prevent Autoing, but weak to Instant Death. An interesting decision to be sure, but it does mean we just drop Die For Me! or Samsara and move on.



Light Balance are a bit more difficult because of being immune to both. Their skillset leaves something to be desired on the offense front though, and they're weak to Elec so we hit 'em with a (Ma)Ziodyne instead. That usually sorts 'em out.



Doom Sword usually come with Light Balances to give a bit of a minor annoyance what with repelling Elec and all. Still, Deathbound makes them sort of a threat but their Ice weakness doesn't help them out and even Akihiko can one-shot them with a basic attack thanks to his new gloves.



Royal Dancers are simultaneously the strongest opponent here and also the weakest. Sexy Dance and Myriad Arrows is a pretty lethal combination, but... Myriad Arrows and Maragion (and their basic attack) is all they have for damage. We have Abaddon. He makes Makoto outright unkillable against these guys. That they have no weakness and are immune to Instant Death is mildly annoying, but not enough to care.



Our old friends, the Daring Gigas, turn up here as normal fodder too. They're the same as when they were red shadows at the end of Harabah, so we hit 'em with Wind and move on.



Finally, we have the Infinite Sand wh seems more like a threat now that I pay attention to its skills for once. Mostly, anyway. Also happens to be weak to Ice, and it usually comes with a Doom Sword/Light Balance. Not much fancy here, but the minor level difference does mean it normally survives getting punches by a Sabazios wielding Akihiko.

tartarus_0d06



Since there's nothing else of interest to happen during the ascent, might as well mention the Heart Items we have now. Chernobog gives us the least useful one of the bunch for the moment. It has a rad name, but it's just Null Slash. It could be useful at some point, but we don't have a pressing need for it anytime soon.



Carried Thor around to get a second pair of these things. Gonna be using that for sure. Norn is our primary offense for the Balance (well, okay, we could fuse Panta Rhei onto other stuff but I like Norn ) and grinding Absorb Elec is a pain, so...



Oh, and Surt gave us his item outside of Portable at last too. Null Fire's very handy and I'm giving this to Mitsuru of course.



Not making a Null Ice item, because it requires a level 69 Persona and Makoto just barely squeaked by that right before hitting the World Balance's floor.



Also the Persona in question is an Empress Arcana Persona, so we'd definitely have to grind a fair bit to get it. Sorry, Akihiko.

Justice World Balance (Portable)

Master of Tartarus / Danger Zone



I normally make a sarcastic quip here about how that's untrue, but... for once, she's right. The World Balance will fuck you up and I love it.



It's not got the most varied moveset in the world; on paper it has a lot of stuff, sure. Most of it is just the four Dynes though. Primarily throws out multi-target spells, of course.



But occasionally slips in a single target one to keep you paying attention (and/or to exploit a weakness because it knows roughly what your weaknesses are!).

In fact, the World Balance is a bit different to most things we've fought because it switches up its moveset as the fight progresses. For the first one-third of its 3100 HP, it uses Dynes and that's basically it. Sometimes it slips in...



A Megidola, just to give you something you can't just no-sell. It's technically worse than the Dynes, but its more survivable so it evens out.



Once it drops to around 2000HP left it mostly sticks to the Ma-Dynes like before, but if its feeling extra saucy it throws in a Mahamaon/Mamudoon just to see if it can wipe the board as quickly as possible (and in vanilla/FES Homunculi only save Makoto, so it's more effective than you'd think!).



When its finally on death's door, it just drops all pretenses and wants to murder you. It does this in an interesting way; remember what I said before about how it knows weaknesses? Yeah, it uses that here. It'll drop a single-target Dyne on whoever's weakness it can exploit and in the follow up use a Megidolaon.

Did you survive the Dyne? Yes? Fuck you, eat shit and die. It's fairly effective, at that because Down does lead to extra damage and all and it has such a high base power and all... and the World Balance has 62 Magic which doesn't help either. It's not ideal for us, but Megidolaon is the best Almighty spell almost every enemy gets so they have to deal with it.

It also sometimes just drops the Megidolaon without futzing around with prissy Dynes.

Ah, but here's a catch: the World Balance only has 500SP. Megidola(on) are super expensive, so you can wait it out easily right? Ahahahaha.



If its SP runs low, or if it just feels like it, it can also use Spirit Drain. No big deal, right? That's only a fixed 20SP. What's the issue he--



That's not 20SP!



THAT'S NOT 20SP AT ALL!

That drained, and restored, more than Makoto's max SP.

No, you can't do that with Spirit Drain. Your Spirit Drain (and Mitsuru's... and most enemies...) is always a fixed 20. Fuck you, World Balance that's just cheating and you know it.



Okay, but seriously, I love this fight. It's not super easy, it's not too difficult once you have a plan in mind. It's a great slobberknocker and as mentioned before the World Balance is one of a scant few enemies that get genuinely angry at you and enter the good ol' Megidolaon spam if you try and use Makarakarn or a Magic Mirror.

Also, it's level 72, has 30 Strength (sure okay), 62 Magic as mentioned above, 42 Endurance, 65 Agility for some absurd reason and 42 Luck. Resists all Physicals but is neutral to Fire/Ice/Wind/Elec which means you gotta fight Magic with Magic. It's fun; after 99% of the game has been easy, simple fights that don't require effort this guy shows up and reminds you that oh yeah I am playing on Hard. Super easy to forget most of the time, huh?

End



Even get a rank up for Judgement that feels sorta earned for once.



...Just the one chest here, though...? That's odd.



Oh, wait, no, there we are. They're in different corridors this time. Sure, why not, I guess.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take a quick break before considering whether or not I want to sneak more Tartatus in without warning again.