Part 16: 4/20-4/21: Not Safe For Work

Part 15: 4/20-4/21: Not Safe For Work

Let’s try that again, shall we?

Music: Last Surprise




Thankfully, this iteration of the Heavenly Punisher is weak to Electricity.



We dispatch it in short measure.



And right ahead is another safe room.



This owl thing is called Andras, and it uses… Ice? I think? I never really let it attack much because it’s weak to Fire and Ann still had about half her SP at this point.

Music: King, Queen, and Slaves (Another Version)



Skipping ahead a bit, we come to an odd corridor.



Odd because it’s full of swinging implements of death, you see.



It’s a classic security measure. My tail might be in danger if we try to force our way through…
Oh yeah, same for Panther’s. So… what do we do? No way we’re gettin’ through here as is.




I didn’t think it would be that easy. We’ll probably need some kind of key for it...
We gotta look for a key again? What a pain in the ass...
Where would it be though? There weren’t any suspicious rooms on the way here.
Hm… What do you think, Joker?



Hm… That probably would be the most likely scenario...
An enemy? Y’mean one of them Shadows that’s roamin’ around? Dude, how many of ‘em do you think there are? We can’t beat the crap outta all of them!
The key is for this tower, so it would have to be one of the Shadows around here. On top of that, it would have to be a relatively high-ranking one.
Then we just need to look for Shadows like that and defeat them!
Let’s do this, Joker! We need to find the Shadow with that key!



First up, though, we need some more SP. Mmm, Placentastic!

I should also note that this is the point where we finally run out of those 30 Adhesive Bandages we bought. I’ll need to pick up more later.



Back downstairs, we see a captain over on the left.

Music: Keeper of Lust





Double Fangs is a light Physical strike that hits twice, which means...




...it takes this guy no time at all to pound us flat. So, the head-on approach clearly isn’t going to work. Let’s try a different tack.

Miniboss: War-hungry Horseman



If we use the Dormina skill Ann learned...



We can put the War-hungry Horseman (Eligor) to sleep for its turn.



It gets a minor amount of HP and SP back, but nothing we can’t handle.



We can also score a Technical attack while we’re at it. Ultimately, it goes down without much trouble (poor Ryuji).




Oh, I just figured it out! This must be how we stop those scythes!
Oh, yeah… Now that I think about it, the statue didn’t have eyes...
Ugh, how much grosser can he get? So this is gonna stop those things, huh?
Well, we’ll need one more. Another guard captain probably has it. Let’s try checking the other floors, Joker!



Crap… They all look like high-rankin’ soldiers! Are we gonna have to beat all of ‘em!?
That would work, but there should only be one actual guard captain among them. Do you have any way to tell them apart, Joker? I’d think you of all people would have the skills to figure out which is the real one.

(We have to use Third Eye, in case the game wasn’t screaming it loud enough)



The one glowing gold is the one we’re after. It’s just the same enemy, I won’t bother explaining how to fight it twice.



Ryuji also learns the very useful skill Tarukaja from the fight, which increases an ally’s Attack for three turns.



Sweet, we got both of that bastard’s eyes! Let’s go stop those swingin’ things!

Back upstairs...



>Use the eyes




A fucking Legend of Zelda chime plays. Yeah, real tough “solving” that “puzzle.”



Further in, we come to another room with a set of stairs that refuses to activate.





Are you ready, Joker?




It is nowhere for children like yourselves! Prepare for your punishment!
What kind of selfish reasoning is that!? The only one who needs to be punished is--



Uh, well, this is really--

A-Ahhhhhhhhh!

--Yeah, more or less.

It’s coming!

GROSS

Miniboss: Torn King of Desire



‘Sup, dickhead.



Okay, so the Torn King of Desire… ugh… will stare at Ann.



This is her cue to defend.




Which is good, because it’ll hit with Assault Dive for a ton of damage.




It tries to heal itself, but there’s no real point. We take it down within three turns.



I-I’m so done with this place…

YEP. SAME.

Hang in there, Panther. We’re almost at the Treasure.




Further in, we find our next (and final) safe room.



Next, we have to climb up this ass...



...to reach this window.



Quiet down, you idiot!

Music: Desire



And a ton of soldiers…
How have you not captured the intruders yet!?
I apologize, my liege!
I bet he’d never imagine we’re in the same room as him. Come on, let’s keep moving...






Music: Disquiet



That Treasure thing’s gotta be in here!





Just hold on a second. I was planning on telling you more once we made it this far. Simply finding the Treasure isn’t enough. We’ll need to make it materialize before we can steal it.



Whaddya mean…?
Desires have no physical form by nature. Hence, we’ll first need to make the real person aware that their desires are in fact a Treasure. Once they’re conscious that their desires might be stolen, the Treasure will finally show itself.
But how do we do that?



So we’re gonna send a calling card!? That’s totally what a phantom thief would do!



That again…? Either way, sounds like it’s worth givin’ it a shot!
Our infiltration route is secure. All that’s left now is to pump out a calling card in reality, then come back to take the Treasure!
This is it, huh?



That’s the spirit! Once we send out the calling card, there will be no turning back.




Well done, team. The mission was a success. We managed to get through the Palace in a single day, which is really, really difficult. My first run through this game, I needed three days. The benefit’s really just having more time to do Confidants, but it’s well worth the trouble.









The Infiltration Log is pretty pointless. It keeps track of what you’ve done, sure, but there’s no way of knowing how much further is left from it.

Music: Beneath the Mask -Rain (Instrumental Version)



Let’s hurry to bed and get some rest.

Wait, what?



Yeah, so you can’t do shit on days you enter the Metaverse. It’s a huge bummer. Persona 4 gave you some options, but for now we’ve got nothing.



Not too tired to hang out with Sojiro, cat.



It hit me like a goddamn ton of bricks right when I sat down...
Well, I guess we did walk pretty far in. I’m glad we found that Treasure thing though.
So Kamoshida’ll turn into a good guy if we steal that, huh…



See ya!
The real challenge is coming up. I hope you’re ready.



The opposition party is blaming the prime minister for appointing him in the first place…

That’s the opposition party for ya. What a bunch of lovable rapscallions.

Sheesh… It seems like someone who was pretty high up was forced to resign.



Good idea. Goodbye, weed number. I'm glad we could spend three updates on you.

Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)







Makes sense, having nutrition handy and all. Makes it easier to study. OK… No more food talk. Hurk!



We found the Treasure, so all that’s left is to send the calling card. We have some time until the board meeting though. What do you want to do today?



These before-school events give us a chance to “commit” and head straight to the hideout once class ends. We can always duck out and come back though if we’re feeling underprepared. Let’s try it.

I can’t just sit and do nothing when I think about Shiho. And I won’t let you guys get expelled either. Kamoshida won’t get away with this…! We’ll talk in more detail after school.



I’m sure both Ryuji and Lady Ann are uneasy, too. So make sure you talk to them about it, OK? Oh, yeah, we said we’d meet at the hideout… OK, let’s head there now!

Music: Suspicion



Couldn’t we have just sent one at the beginnin’ of all this…?
It’s not that simple. A Treasure won’t stay materialized forever. Once the impression is gone, the Treasure will disappear. I think it’ll last around a day, at most.
The hell…? That’s like no time at all… Anyways, we can send a callin’ card right now, yeah? Let’s do it and steal that bastard’s heart!







So, the important stuff here is to remember that we have to be fully prepared before sending the calling card, because that eats a day for some reason. We’re not fully prepared, so we need to duck out for a quick second.



But it’s raining… so I may get an influx of people with colds.
Come to think of it, I might collapse again if I take that medicine...I feel like I need Bold Guts in order to take that medicine… I shouldn’t suggest a clinical trial...

Aww, no hanging with Takemi. Well, we’re not here for that anyway.



We need some of these Takemedic-Alls, as well as more Revivadrins and Recov-R: 50 mgs. The Takemedic-Alls will be vital later because they restore 50 HP for the entire party.



Next, we head to Untouchable to get all this junk we found in the Palace off our hands. I totally forget to sell the useless armor we found in that chest while we’re here, because I’m a dumbass.

Music: Beneath the Mask -Rain (Instrumental Version)



On the way out, we spy something unusual...



Return here whenever you wish. It shall be of your own accord...
That’s what he said… But, how do I go back to that room?

Music: Suspicion



Hey, Inmate!
Our master awaits. Please come this way.




Caroline just gives you a swift, impatient kick in the ass.

Music: Aria of the Soul



How does it feel slipping into the unusual from your usual life…?
Our master has arranged an access point to assist you in coming here directly from the real world.
That door you just went through is it! Be thankful, Inmate!
This too shall aid in your rehabilitation. Make good use of it.

So, now we can also access the Velvet Room from the real world, which we’re going to make heavy use of later.



Also worth noting: I totally missed two SP drinks in the arcade, mainly because they weren’t in the guide, dammit.



Well, let’s send the calling card.

I’ve been waitin’ to hear you say that!

Music: Suspicion



So we send the calling card in the morning… and carry out the plan by the end of the day, right?
Correct. The effect won’t last that long. ...Are you worried?
Heh. Waited too long.
Perfect.



So, who’s going to write the card?



Why?
Why…? Why wouldn’t it be me!?
This is important. Are you sure you can handle the pressure?
I must agree.
I really wanna get him good! Lemme write it… C’mon, please?




Hey, are you sure about this…? If they find out our identities, all this work will be for nothing...
I know, I know!



You’d better not slack off on this.



It’s a bit late for that, Morgana.



Are you sure you’re really capable of this!?
Don’t worry, I got it. I even made a logo for us.
...A logo?
Yup. You’ll get to see it tomorrow.
Well that’s worrying...



Yup, I’m sure we can do this.
Just remember, we can’t trust any shitty adults. That’s why we gotta do this ourselves. Anyways, let’s pull this off and surprise everyone!



Many other incidents similar to this one have been reported recently. In all cases, there was no warning or indication exhibited by the afflicted. Police have not released an official statement regarding this similarity, but…
So there’ve been a lot of strange incidents, huh? Seems like this world has got its own problems.



There’s pretty much only one thing the game will let us do on the day we send the calling card: make tools. I have no idea why. It’s not like the game wants you to be spending an extended amount of time in the Palace on the day you steal the Treasure.



Anyway, we make two Lockpicks and receive Proficiency +2. Tomorrow, we’re finally going after Kamoshida’s Treasure.