Part 32: Flea Market

Flea Market

Music: Festival


Today's the Flea Market, which is one of the most involved festivals(relatively speaking) in the game. Everyone in town will be selling stuff, or trading stuff for other stuff, or playing games in exchange for stuff. And I mean everyone. There's also a trading chain to get the top-tier stuff, which you'll see in due time.


20 gold a pop? Clearly garbage.


Gee, if we can't trust Daria, who CAN we trust? Let's do this!


I've been bamboozled.

Let's try again!



Sensing a trend? There is a very small chance of getting something good, but I'll show that off later.


Hopefully the small child is more trustworthy.



1 win is a veggie and recipe bread, 2 wins is a flower seed, 3 wins is "a nice tonic", 4 wins is a farm tool, and 5 is the secret prize. I know what I'm aiming for. Savescum powers activate!


The rules aren't all that complicated. Prepare your favorite sacrifice to the RNG, and get going.


Feel free to consult the Rock Paper Scissors LP if you don't understand how to play.


Repeat 4 times...



*sniffle*
I-I'm sorry...
*chomp*!!
Owwww!


So yeah, the secret prize is getting bitten. I'll take the 4 win prize instead, since farming string for the fishing poles is a pain in the ass.


Shara's selling a couple things that normally don't show up in her store until the fourth dungeon is done. They're also ridiculously cheap compared to normal.


BUY BUY BUY



(The emery flower is a spring flower, and the pom pom grass is a fall flower.)



For Flea Market, our resort opens a stall we call "Carmen's Paradise". Pay up front, then you get to see what gift you've bought! You might find a real bargain! How about it? Interested, right?
Not really...
Well, don't sweat the small stuff!


Might as well go for it.

Alright! That's more like it. Well then, you've got three choices. Which do you want?


Naturally I'm going to use the power of ~magic~ to see all three.


Top Gift is okay, I guess.


Special Gift is cake.


And Token Gift is a ring.


I go with Special Gift since cake is worth the most. Seriously, look at that price!


Carmen's running her own version of Carmen's Paradise.




The fished item is, shockingly, a fish.


The mystery item is some generic crafting stuff.


And the sparkly item(and also the one I settle for) is a ruby.


Rusk sells exactly what you expect, but with a twist.


It's all being sold cheap enough that you can flip it for a tidy profit.

Eat it? Why would we do that? Link gets to cram alarming amounts of simple dishes down his throat for his daily Eating skill points.


Cheap ore? Don't mind if I do.


Marjorie's where those trades I mentioned come in. I don't have the ability to make any of those dishes yet, but I can get two of them from trades around town. And I definitely want those items, since stat boosts and all.


Marian is less than amused if you bullshit her about her own(seemingly terrible) trade.


This is the same deal as Rusk's food, where all of it's being sold for less than we can sell it, but the Curry Rice should be saved to trade for Invincroid instead.


Golden seeds are ridiculously rare. So naturally I'm going to buy both of them. (and not plant them now, because typhoons. The summer ones can go in the desert once typhoon season is over.)


Pia sells some stuff, but also has a trade that makes Marian's trade less ridiculous.


And Sakuya is conveniently selling a Raccoon Leaf for people who don't happen to have one lying around.

Trade chain, go!


No time to be alarmed, gotta get this heavy spice over to Pia.


No, thank you.


Sherman is the only person in town not selling or trading anything. How rude.




Why yes, that IS completely ridiculous. So it'll probably sit in the "too awesome to consider using" pile, but hey, I have it!


The love potion is...interesting. I'll show it off later.


Raven's selling accessories. I grab a scarf because why not.





A second use of Heavy Spice appears.


It doesn't actually help in any trade chains, but whatever, I'll take it.


All three of these are pretty good. The critical ring gives increased chance of critical hits, and the silent/paralyze rings grant resistance to seal/paralysis while giving you a chance to seal/paralyze foes yourself.


Evenlyn's got a backup option for getting a raccoon leaf, along with some other goodies. I go with the Platinum since it's in short supply right now.


Same deal as Rusk and Collette's stores.


Cheap seeds, cheap food, and some greenifier I'll probably use at some point.


After many, many, many tries, I get a non-trash item out of Daria's lottery. It's not worth it. At all. Daria, I normally like you, but fuck you.

With all the Flea Market stuff taken care of, let's check in on the settlement.


Fascinating.


Back to town to do a simple request.


tl;dr: Mystery person left this trash here.


I take everything because even the literal trash is worth a gold or two.


Once the Flea Market's done, everyone will talk about how well their stuff sold. Most of it is boring variations on "I sold a lot!".


So let's timeskip to tomorrow and do a Karina quest.


For added comedy, it's a hurricane today.



What? Where?
Privera Forest. Of course.
Wait, why?
Because.
What?
Oh...umm...(I probably shouldn't say.)
Come on. You can tell me.
Well, I want to practice.
Practice?
Yeah, if I want to get to the city, it's going to take a lot of walking. So I need to get ready for that.
You need me to help you practice walking?
Hey, there's some dangerous stuff in Privera Forest. (Monsters are such a pain.)
Ah.
Yeah. I'll do the walking. You take care of the monsters for me.
But won't you have to deal with monsters if you travel to the city?
Oh, I'll worry about that later. So could you get me to Privera:The Eye, then?

Why can't she practice walking around town? Oh well, who cares, let's get this over with.

Music: Privera Forest


This is the literal first screen of the dungeon.

What?! This is just the entrance.

What he said.

Oh. Really? (Who would have thought that the wilderness was so...big?)
Isn't there some kind of carriage service that we could take there instead?
I don't think so. Let's go.
Fine. (I guess I can get used to walking...Maybe.)

If this game was set in the modern era, Karina would live in her mom's basement and only emerge for pizza deliveries.


We've made it all the way to the second screen in the dungeon! Karina just might make it!

At this rate, we're never going to get there.
Yeah, I know. (Maybe I should give up on this "walking" concept.)


Oh no! Now Link's become the tutorial!

Hmmm. (Oh, I know...) How do you collect ore? Could you show me?
What? I guess I can.
Thanks. I'll just watch.
Okay.
(Now I get a break.)

A small amount of mining later...



Yeah, thanks. (It's over already?) Hm...
Hey! Isn't that an Apple tree?
What?



Those apples look tasty. Could you get me one?
You could get it yourself, you know.
But my legs are tired. Please?
*sigh*


You know, as easy as it is to hate on Marian, Karina's an almost equal(but more low-key) terrible. Who the hell wrote all this and went "yes, this is a character that players will want to interact with as one of the possible marriage choices"?

(I hope it's someplace with a bench.)
...
(There isn't going to be a bench, is there?)
Don't worry, Karina.
Hm?
It's just a little farther.
Oh...(That was nice of him.)
Okay. I can make it.
Okay! Let's go, then.



(As long as it's only a little farther...)



I see...(I'm so tired.)



(And the city is even farther than this?)
...Maybe the town isn't so bad. (I'd never make it to the city.)
Well, that's one way to make your decision.



That was a real adventure. Here's your reward for being such a good guide.


You're no Sherman, Karina.

Thanks for today. (I guess it went okay.) Well, see you later.

Good riddance. Let's go talk to more interesting characters.



Yes...since it was the first thing.
What?
Making pendants. It's what Gaius first taught me how to make.
I see.



To cook?
No, silly! To make socks!
I...don't even want to know how you'd go about that.



Squid are mine! Watch out! The squid's days...
are numbered.
So suddenly?!


Link delivers the brutal truth.

I had a feeling it was a defect...I can't help it, though!

Have you tried developing character traits that don't involve food?


I'm running out of ways to say "here's the next quest."



I'll tell you when we get there. Well, let's go to Privera:Lightway.
?



Well, there was actually someone.that helped me around here.
What?!


Link is just the best at keeping secrets.

Oh, umm...
Hmmm...
And its wool was gold, so I thought I could shave it.
Shave it?!
Yes. I've never seen a golden wooly before. I'm sure its wool would fetch a high price.
Yes...That's...true...
What's the matter? You don't look well.
I-I'm fine.
Okay then. But I don't see that golden wooly anywhere.
Yeah.


But thou mustn't.

(I could shave myself...?) (That's just, too...Anything but that!)
I thought golden wooly wool would fetch a high price...



(You can't buy pride with money...) (I'll pretend I didn't hear her...)

I seriously have to wonder how traumatic shaving is for this to be the one thing Link grows a backbone over.



I've decided I'm not going home until we find that golden wooly!



Seems like it'll be cold tonight...
What?
Oh, well...umm...you mind waiting a second?
Okay...?


Nobody will ever piece together this puzzle.

Oh.


Link & Sakuya conveniently go offscreen so nobody has to animate any of this. Tell, don't show.

S-Stop right there!


The game doesn't even provide portraits.

...You're just a regular wooly, aren't you?
?!
I mean, of course he is.
B-Bah...(That scared me.)
Alright. Well, we'll start here.
B..ah...! (Ah, it's cold.)
Now, this side...This is harder than I thought.
... (It tickles.)
Alright, now this side.
Ba?! Bah bah bah...?! (Wait, if she shaves this much...)
Hm?
Bah!! (Noooo!)
Hey, if you don't stop fighting...S-Stop! Where are you touching?!
B-Bah...?! (Wait, I didn't mean to...)
Honestly, you naughty little...! I'll shave you bald as punishment!
Baaaaaaaaaah!



Yeah, this should be enough.



Where did you run off to?
I just...had a thing...
You don't look well, did something happen?
Well, just something that really cut me to the core.
Hmmm...Oh, anyway! Look!
Tadaaa! I found the golden wooly and shaved it.
Oh, yeah.
Where's your enthusiasm?
What?! O-Oh, I just wish I could've seen him too...
I see.
...
Oh, well. Anyway, thanks for today. Here's just a token of my appreciation. Hope I can count on you again.
Y-Yeah.


The real reward is the trauma you endured along the way.



So you think about the opposite words before saying them?
You've got me pegged!
I'm...even more confused now. By the way, Sofia, would you like to go somewhere sometime?


A rare appearance of the portrait parasol!



There was a book that I loved in my youth. There was a courageous hero who wore a cape much like mine. Wearing this cape...It still makes me feel like a hero sometimes.
(Wow. I didn't expect that!)


One thing I somehow haven't shown off until now is that you can refight bosses to farm their drops.


They don't tend to last very long when you're several dungeons ahead of them.


"This beast that was threatening the settlement is here again all of a sudden. Okay."


I try fighting Skelefang in human form since I can do that now, but the timing's all off for its attack patterns. At least they tuned it really well for the mandatory woolyform fight?


It's 1AM by the time it goes down, so the update ends here.

Next time: Why did one-month-ago me do another Marian quest?