Part 23: Bovine At An Incline

Update 23: Bovine At An Incline

This is the worst pun yet and welcome back to Rune Factory. Last time we took out Mandragora, the plant that was...uh...just sorta sitting in Clemens Cave not really bothering anyone.



Here’s Donnel posing on its corpse.



So, Godwin’s stepped up his cave plowing requirements. We’ll need 100 tilled squares in Clemens to progress. To start that, I hopped two rooms back, to the spawner with the Heracros.



It went well.



Okay, now it should go better.



Lots of free soil here to till, Gotta weed first...and I’m not even bothering with that stump, but hey, still a bounty.



The upgraded Hoe’s line charge makes this a lot quicker.



Then I was sidetracked, as usual, by mining.



But eventually, every square in here but 1 (STUMP) was plowed. My HP should be a good note of the toll that took. That’s...44 squares. Not quite enough yet. Still, I’m not getting it done with this HP, so might as well head back to town.



And now I realize I don’t have Emmett’s key yet. I’ll have to get on that.



The mining was disappointing, so it’s time to upgrade. At 5 silver, this boost should be well worth the trouble.



Still, 4 days without the hammer is going to be...rough. Maybe Godwin can console me.





You should really just stop being surprised at this.

: I’ll go and investigate it. Donnel, please tend to your farm and the fields in the caves you explore. I won’t issue the next pass until you plow 100 squares in Clemens Cave.

“Use the game mechanics, jackass.”



Oh, that reminds me, Donnel is literally inches from death! I should probably get a bath. First, though...




Inferno is that AOE fire spell the Ignis kept using on me in Clemens. It’s much less effective in Donnel’s hands, of course, because this game hates wizards.



Time to stare mournfully at Melody’s until 3:00 hits…



Oh, but first!




And that’s, if I’m not mistaken, every key in town. Now Donnel can loot these saps for all they’re worth and-



Not Emmett. Emmett is too good for that.



Regardless of grand larceny plots, time for bathing.



And right back to Clemens! This is just north of the second room, where that troll spawner is. Now is a good time to mention the “Magic” button and the “Pocket” button are the same, it just depends on if you’re holding something. So if you screw that up...



Whoops I Escape’d again.



Still, now you can see the fruits of my labor (And putting Fireball in my Magic slot because fuck that escape mess-up.

Back to Godwin!





Even the game is just basically pushing you to make progress at this point.

: I’m issuing you a pass for Mt. Gigant. Make use of it!




Nice! But I’d rather not go there today. A fresh Donnel is our best shot at making any progress exploring the Mountain. So, for now...



Welcome back to Toros! Being able to kill these demons in one combo of my new Flame Saber is a wonderful feeling.



So is just Medication’ing away that pesky paralysis. We’ve grown so much. Anyway, I gathered wood, watered the crops, the usual. Let’s get to the good stuff.



After a good night’s sleep, it’s off to Mt. Gigant!




First things first, though, Shawn’s got Wool for us.



And here’s the entrance to Gigant. If it looks familiar, yes, that is Clemens right to the south of us. These two caves are pretty similar in motif, so it does make sense they’re close by.





I...don’t think we see any magma up here. But Clemens is near, so I’ll allow it.



Also check out this nice view! Enough screwing around, though.



Mt. Gigant, an arid land of



I hope you didn’t think we were getting away without Mist.







A good start.

: Okay…

: But I am a little concerned about the recent increase in monsters.

: Yeah, so am I.

: You know, the Grimoire is rumored to live on top of this mountain.



Donnel you fuckin’ rube.

: The Grimoire! According to legend, it’s a servant of the gods...or maybe even a god itself.

No bonus points for guessing the boss of this place. Greatest Daemon must remain a secret.

: Sounds impressive.

: Well, whatever it is, please be careful!


: Don’t worry, I will.

This is a total lie.



So, immediately Mt. Gigant branches into two paths. This place is pretty mazey, and like all mazes, hugging left seems like a good decision.



It leads to a small collection of farmland. Nothing great, is there anything interesting up here?



Another fork. Again, headed Left. My left, not Donnel’s. I’m in charge here. Also, yes, those fires work the same way as the ones in Clemens, the Watering Can will douse them.



Along this path, bugs! These guys are the…”Spiders”? Doesn’t look much like a spider to me, more of a weird beetle, but I mean...I’ll take their word for it. They have a melee attack that can poison. Otherwise they’re uninteresting.



They went down quick, and to my surprise, D-dog solo’d one of them! However, he’s dying of poison now.



The wonders of Medication are...wondrous.



Back at full, and these flames are concealing something…



Deadly plants! These enemies, the...Flowers...are nasty little buggers. They’ve got a spammable version of the Wind Magic “Swordstorm”, which you might remember from Mandragora. They can also suck out your HP with ranged spike spits, and Seal you. Thankfully the Flame Saber makes a good dent in ‘em.



That took quite a bit out of me, though. And D-Dog is flat out dead.



Hopefully whatever’s in this ominous cave isn’t-



...Oh my. Here’s something I’ve been looking for. This enemy only spawns here, in this one room.



I want it.



So, while you’re trying to pet this thing into joining you, it’ll attack with a charge, similar to the Silver Wolf’s pounce. This is the “Peekamoo”.

If you groan at that you haven’t read too much of this LP. Cling to that sanity.



But, after much pain…



No, that won’t do. Let’s take a thread suggested…

Oh shit. I forgot to ask for this one. And I last saved far too long ago. Well, it’s time to put my own creativity to the test. A great name, something memorable, funny, and...I’m gonna do a shitty meme.



IT’S HIGH MOO(N) (i played like 3 hours of Overwatch before this. If you wish to leave the thread now, I understand)



My sins are unremoovable.



So, while I destroyed the spawner, the other Peekamoo just...sat there and watched (You can see his horns on the right side of the screen). I think I exited his aggro range and he just didn’t care.



Clearly he was just impressed with my swording skill.



I slew him anyway. Donnel is fierce and unyielding.



That was also a level up, but I missed the floaty text. Sorry.



Back to the Left/South junction, what could be down here?



A bounty of ores and gems! Soon I will-



Ahh, fuck.



Well, back at the first split. Heading right this time runs us into the Big Mush. Doesn’t seem so big to me. They have an AOE blast of spores that takes forever to go off and does little damage. Honestly, the enemies here aren’t too threatening, aside from the Flowers. It can poison you, but it’s not much of a threat.



They also watched as I demolished their spawner. It seems like the more I play this game, the jankier it becomes.



Regardless, the Flame Saber makes quick work of the plant-esque enemies. Picking this up was a good choice.



North of the Mush spawner is a new area.



It contains this guy, the Weegull. Weegulls are slow and have a long windup on their single attack, which is melee. They’re pushovers. Apparently they can Paralyse, but not even I got caught by it.



And right afterwards, a new split. Right first this time, just to mix it up.



THE SQUIRRELS ARE BACK



They’re still..nonthreatening. These are “Fuwori”, and if you remember the Chirori in Carmite and how lame it was, these are too. No special abilities of note. Just moderately quick melee attacks.



West of their spawner is a save point. But what’s on the left path?



Suspicious…



But it’s just farmland. Here’s a good spot to do your required plowing in Gigant.



That’s enough initial exploration for now, though.



Let’s visit our new pal.



After brushes, of course.



Yes, brushing is a skill. It’s called “Communication” and it’s pretty damn good, actually.



As you might expect from a NotCow, Donnel can milk HiMoo.



It comes with its own nice pyramid container!




Doesn’t sell for much now, but we’ll see…



Anyway, here’s the stat sheet. Probably our strongest monster so far, HiMoo is a good acquisition. There’s one more thing I definitely want out of Gigant, then I’ll probably start recruiting more wildly and use some of the proposed names. Sorry for the wait on that.



Anyway, I just noticed there’s a river south of the EXP Farm!



The usual stuff lurks within.



Also, a new fish!




And so, Donnel fished until he collapsed in his own yard.



Later, everybody.

LP PSA: After I finish Mt. Gigant, the Marriage Poll is CLOSING! If you’re lurking in the shadows, trying to usurp Sharron’s claim to Donnel’s heart, speak now! Or forever hold your peace.

Oh and also if there was a...hypothetical Chicken-esque monster...and you were to name it within five characters...give me that hypothetical name. Or Runes help me, I will make an even worse joke.