Part 16: Kasumidai reached, much faster this time.

Update 16



First thing that happens when getting out, is an earthquake. Ayup.



"Just as we were heading to Kasumidai... Hope it's not a bad omen.
...
Akane Narita... She said something about Kasumidai that gave Narumi a pause. I feel rotten for throwing a cloud over our client... But I'll file this in the notebook, in case."



"Under the subject heading of "Akane"...
Gouto added an entry about "Akane's Mystery.""

"Oh yeah, those masked men from before...
It looked like they did a number on you. Are you all right?"



"You may be a Devil Summoner, sworn to look after the Capital, but don't forget to look after yourself, too.
Kasumidai, eh? I'll tag along."




But first, this. After all, Raidou just lost something from his body. Who knows what it was? Better take it easy for the moment.




Now let's check what the damage was.



Hey. Wait what.


WAIT WHAT.


Oh god damnit.
Raidou's got a Luckectomy.
So complete that the stat name is no longer even Luck.



"Some strange masked men who talked kinda funny stepped in while we chased down Tatsumi in Mannen-Cho.
They used a strange spell that they called the 'Fukorutsubo,' and what's more, they dropped Dahn's name.
We don't know much about Dahn yet, but it's safe to say he's connected to the masked men somehow."




"Our client, Akane, called herself the daughter of the House Financial Affairs chairman Tasuke Narita... But Narumi says he can't get any information on Narita having a daughter... We need to know more about how Councilman Narita in Kasumidai is connected to Akane Narita."
Considering what we have seen in Mannen Cho, could it be that Akane is instead Narita's SON?




"My fish, too... Those stray cats and the vagabonds have been getting to 'em.
That counts as being 'spirited away' too, right? Of all the luck..."
Interesting. Could it be more people getting the Fukorutsubo treatment?



Sharp-eyed boy"There was a foreign guy there, right? With a hat and a briefcase... I've never seen a foreigner before! His gold hair was pretty sharp! But he went away somewhere... He's not at Tamonten Shrine now."
Clearly, the foreigner can't be anyone important. No sir. We've never seen it anywhere at all. Ever.



Selling some crap. And then visiting Victor.



"However, Kuzunoha, there's no need to become despondent.
For you see, the new demon will inherit skills from the fused demons."




"This is an unusual type of skill... As you fight battles with a demon, its loyalty towards you increases. When its loyalty reaches maximum, the demon develops a passive skill.
I say 'develops' because... The time you spend with the demon actually influences which skill the demon learns!
Any passive skill automatically enhances the demon's stats. Moreover, no matter how many times you fuse a particular demon and its sub-sub-sub-offspring..."




""





"Strength, Magic and Loyalty can all be inherited by the resulting demon."



"For the best results, I recommend fusing demons who have received a great deal of care and use."





"You could have them specialize solely in attack skills, and go on an offensive Blitzkrieg... Or specialize in healing and support skills, relying on their assistance as you charge in boldly...
Then again, perhaps you'd prefer a balanced mix of offensive and support skills to cover your bases... All three approaches, and others besides, are possible by skillfully managing skill inheritance.
Though, only the abilities your demons actually learn can be passed on to other demons. And there are always some skills any given demon is simply incapable of learning.
A demon's skill preference depends on several factors, such as its size and other unique qualities.
Keep those factors in mind during the fusion process."





"Investigation skills, you see, are closely tied with a demon's Order. To compensate, it's best to carry as many orders of demon as possible, to be prepared for any situation. Just as we scientists constantly strive for better technology, you should seek to improve your demons."




Indeed.

Now let's see what we can fuse now.



My oh my, our very first Frost Order demon.



Seems to me that Luck can also be inherited. Interesting. So that explains those golden bonuses. UNLESS those are Magic-based bonuses and I am misinterpreting crap, so whatever.




Pixie:"No... Never mind."




Victor does his thing and...



Chou-keshin: "Will you be nice to me even though I'm a demon?
Nice to meet you."





She gets both, obviously.






How touching.



Nice, even if we haven't seen the use for these so far. (Guess)




Let's get Raidou to where he needs to be.




There it is.



Kasumidai Resident: "But after the earthquake, streetcars toppled over in Ginza-Cho. People changed their pleas to that instead. In the commotion, Narita's budget plan was overlooked... One man's tragedy is another man's luck... I mean, ya didn't hear this from me, 'course. Councilman Narita's not a man you wanna piss off..."




This was one of the mid-to-endgame areas in the previous game.



But this, this is new.



Bah!




HOLY CATS, it is a NEW area! New assets as well!





Well, why would Raidou lie? Hms.




This one is not a lie, so it is to be used.



Bah.




Hm, this guy is also new!



"You're dropping Akane's name. And that, I cannot ignore.
How do you know Akane...?
You will answer me, boy. Don't think there's anything you can hide from a man in my position."


Suddenly, Akane.



"Your timing is either impeccable, or unbelievably poor.
Explain yourself, Akane."





"I thought I warned you not to leave Kasumidai."




"I've been embarrassed in front of you here, but don't press your luck."




My oh my. This is a rather obvious alignment choice. AND AGAIN, MY CONTROLLER REFUSES TO VIBRATE, apparently due to a blown fuse in the PS2 (which is fixable, should check one of these days).
This is, by itself, not very important.
But it is a step. Everything starts with little steps.
WHAT SHOULD RAIDOU BE? A relative jerk who still does what needs to be done (with a heart of gold. And so on and so forth) or an absolute GOODY TWO SHOES?
(Third option being neither not available at the moment. Later, maybe)