Part 25: Keep Quiet

To say we're inside a giant worm, that we never actually get to see from the outside at that, this sure doesn't look like it... though that would technically require making a unique tileset for one dungeon and we can't have that!



...Oh.

Well, uh, I guess the only other possible way to rationalise it is to say that it is actually just a tunnel and the people inside the train are just dumb and think that it's a giant worm but considering what Etoile mentioned about it having hearts and all means that's probably not right either. And this discrepency is about to get even more egregious; before going to take on the right heart, however, let's check out the left. Just because.



: Can't you tell your left from your right? You're so stupid!

Well, hey, these rooms have unique tilesets! Just the rooms with hearts in mind; considering the actual dungeons are the most blatant acts of copy-pasting for level design I've ever seen this side of Crisis Core it is baffling why the hell they'd design an entire tileset for no more than 3 rooms.



Once you enter the right room the fight starts immediately. It's nothing exciting, nof difficult and it barely qualifies as a mini-boss. Not to mention you have 5 full turns to kill the thing so there is no excuse to not beat this thing in that time. If you even take 2 full turns you're probably doing something wrong.



KnightSpawn's a funny one. Despite being statistically awesome he doesn't get much to show it off; most of his spells induce ailments and in almost every fight using them is a waste of time because you can just murder things faster.



: What!? Come on! I killed it within six turns! I swear! Hey you!



: Did you make me mess up!?

The fourth wall isn't as strong as it used to be...

: Oops... I was so worried about Cornet messing up, I wasn't concentrating on what I was doing...
: Oh well...

Well, back to the train where we're stuck forever I guess. Goddamn Etoile...



: I can't believe you made me go through all this just to fail! I was an idiot to have believed in you.
: But, since I'm such a wonderful person, I'll help you again if you want. So what? Do you wanna try it again?
: ...
: Kill it before the 6th turn, understand!? Let's go!



Not as useful right now as it seems, but getting a damage increase for Flare is never a bad thing.



Exactly the same situation as the first time, only you're possibly slightly stronger now so it should be that little bit easier (as if it was even needed). Once you're done here, you can fight the actual boss. At last.



Just because he mainly gets ailments, doesn't mean he exclusively gets ailments.





Unlike the Painting fight, this one isn't actually hard despite being pretty lengthy. It's just a bucket of HP and it has no weakness on account of being Neutral elemental. Also it can heal. I shouldn't have even taken as long as I did, but the mooks with it just LOVE throwing out sleep spells so the fight gets dragged out as a result.

Oh, and Etoile is an NPC ally here, again, but she's totally useless dealing either 20 or 40 damage to everything depending on which line she says.



: I was floatin' like a butterfly and stingin' like a bee. You guys should learn to fight beautifully, just like me. Ta-ta peasants! Ho ho ho ho ho ho!!

...Well, back to the train. Let's get the hell out of here already.



: But, was I scared? Nooo...Of course not!
: Who do you think I am? I'm Etoile Rosenqueen!
: The monsters kept coming at me.... And Cornet, just kept running away from the monsters screaming "Help me! Help me!"
: ...
: But of course, I didn't back down!
: I defeated every monster that got in my way...



: Uh hello, Cornet...
: Let me introduce my friend, Cornet. Uh, yeah... She was helping me... Yeah, that's the ticket...
Mayor: You two are the most courageous ladies that I have ever met. I feel so ashamed... This was something that we should've done, but we didn't have the guts to make a stand. But... you have taught me the meaning of the word "courage." I'll never forget what you've done for us. Thank you.
: Uh... You're embarrassing me...
: What's this shaking all about!?



Mayor: It'll crash into the mine!!
: I see; even though its heart stopped, the worm's movement didn't... This phenomenon is commonly known as the force of inertia. Betcha didn't know that, huh, Cornet?

I, uh, I'm pretty sure that's not what inertia is. I haven't done mechanics in a little over a year now so I could be wrong.

: Why are you such a snob!?



Aside from "plot convenience" I can't think of any reason why Cornet would be the only one to come out of a crash unharmed. Kururu was pretty much a given, considering she's floating and all.



But, just outside the train is the Inotium Mine. At last! If you got to walk through the underground, giant as it is, you'd eventually end up here as well. There is no reason to ever go down there again once you get onto the train, though.



The enemies here are nothing fancy; this is one of the more common enemy groups I saw. And they're all Earth elemental. And Flare just got GigaTornado not that long ago. You can see where this is going.



Just in case we run into a fight with just the one Earth enemy I guess.



Increases Defence by 10. It's, um, not that good or useful. It's kinda handy for low-levelled puppets to prevent them from occassionally dying I guess.



The dungeon is wholly uneventful but the last room is something else.

: T...This is amazing...
: Cornet... T...This is... Inotium!!
: No way!
: Yes way! This is the biggest deposit I've ever seen!
: We're gonna be rich! We won't have to live off of your tips anymore! What are yu standing around for?



This choice is pretty interesting; it affects whether you fight the "boss" of the dungeon or not . Choose "No" and you merely get handed the Windstone. Choose "Yes," however, and...



Nothing interesting about this fight, sadly. The only thing half-way interesting is that the Chimera, there, is fire-elemental. And this isn't the last time we'll see it as a "boss" either. The Cockatrice are the same as they were in Flare's sidequest.



Okay, we're done here. We could just go get either of the last 2 stones now, but since we're in the area I'd quite like to see if there's anything worthwhile in the Oasis Underground or not since I've never bothered before.  No, there isn't. 



Okay, yeah, fine whatev- wait, what's happening?



Don't let this order deceive you; to trigger this, all you need to do is win 100 fights with KnightSpawn in the active party. His level doesn't matter in the slightest, nor does what spells he has. This one requirement for triggering the quest is the sole reason I've been carting him around this early.

Oh, yeah, this isn't a scene that signifies his quest is complete. This is but the trigger; the quest itself is done immediately afterwards but it consists of one boss battle... where you can only use 3 party members... guessed who the boss is yet?



Yep, it's against KnightSpawn himself. Even though I triggered this fight earlier than I anticipated, it's still ridiculously easy. His skillset here is independant of what he knows as can be witnessed by his first attack. This, therefore, means that his stats will be as well and that this fight has no variation depending on when you trigger it. Just spam either your best attacks, or any Light elemental ones (like Excalibur) and the fight should be over in almost no time.



Only the puppet of KnightSpawn has remained.

And, with that, the quest is officially done. Is the reward worth it?



...Yes, yes it is. It just so happens that the second hardest boss, plot-wise at least, is Water elemental. This will kick its ass. Anyway, to the Oasis Underground!




Just for internal consistency, I kept him for the rest of this update. I don't regret doing so.



And after spending a good 20+ minutes blundering through this place, the one Elixir Cocoa is the only thing worth a damn down here. It restores all SP to one character and, here's the kicker, you can buy these bloody things at Oasis if you really want to. Urgh.

Next time: 3 stones down, 2 to go; Thunder and Earth are all that remain! Which is next?