Part 9: Rescue Mission Time

In exploration areas, there will be a lngass image showing the location of an event, and then cropped.

>There seems to be someone beyond here.





And now that we've seen the first example of demon negotiation, let's try with this dude.


Slime: "Rrraaah...?"




What's the worst that can happen here?


Slime: "Rrrr... Aaahh!"
>The demon went away looking disgusted.




Well, it could've gone instantly hostile, I guess.



So meanwhile, York scores yet another headshot.



And whenever York scores a crit, there is an extra hit. That will be explained shortly.




Well, it seems we have found someone.


Irving: "I tell ya, they came mighty quick, so I ran outta there without so much as a gun. Demons, huh? We're sure up against some tough varmints. Critters like that, you gotta treat 'em like we treated coyotes back home... A faceful o' shot! Promise me you'll stop by my lab when ya get back to the Red Sprite, y'hear?"




One recovered, three to go.


Strike Team: "Get this... I talked to a demon! The Demon Summoning Program translates the demons' speech into our language. God help me, but I'm pretty excited about this!"




And then, we get a Slime and an unknown.



Whenever a enemy is hit by its weak element, this is what happens: Demon Co-Op.



In short, whenever something is hit by its weakness, allies of the same alignment will do followup hits, unlike the Press Turn system where one got extra half-turns/only used HALF a turn per attack. It is useful.



Unfortunately, that treasure is not within our reach at the moment, a damn green river is blocking the access. And there is no option to ford it. We don't want York to lose his load of supplies or to catch pneumonia either, do we?


>Whenever a party member strikes an enemy's weakness, that member and others of the same alignment will automatically perform follow-up attacks. This system is called Demon Co-Op. The more allies of the same alignment you have, the more powerful this attack will be. Demon Co-Op is an efficient way to deal damage, so it's best to actively pursue it. In this battle, if you use York's fire attack from his Gun menu... Or if you used a summoned Pixie's Agi spell, you can strike the enemy's weakness.




That is done a couple of times, and success is achieved. Macca is not quite agent honor, but the principle is the same. Beat hellbeasts, get paid.




And this door is locked at the moment. Eventually, whatever lies beyond it will be shown, but not today.


Yup.




And after a brief initial exploration, it is wise to return to the base. Resources need to be conserved in case of emergency, after all.
And besides, both York and the Pixie had exhausted their MP pool, no further exploration was wise in those conditions.



Irving: "Thought ya should know, we can make Medicine now."




That means, we can now spend DEMON ENERGY MONEY to make items. Because that is how it works in this game. There is a matter-energy converter. It works both ways.
That is also how the ship is powered. DEMON ENERGY MONEY. It is, obviously, an important resource.



We can recycle excess items here. Forma? No, we haven't seen that yet.



But the neat part is here, we can now make some items. Let's see what is available.



50 macca for a single item. That means that Chen provided 750 macca worth of free medicine. Useful.



And right now York has a single sub-app installed in his Demonica. It is a mild regen, useful, but not vital. We will be seeing a lot of those doodads down the road.


Irving: "Though believe you me, I'm stronger'n I look. That won't faze me none. So never mind me, and go tend to the others who need yer help. Go on! Git!"




Chen: "I'm trained to make supplies, not war. But if we leave the fighting to you guys, everything should turn out just fine!"




After an equally quick visit to the sickbay, it is time to resume the exploration of Antlia.




Ah, a MP restorative! That shall be saved for later.



Strike Team: "I just fought a few demons, but it got tricky, since I didn't know what they were... Nothing's scarier in a fight than an enemy you don't know. I'll send the notes I took to your Demonica. Stay sharp, okay?"

He is wrong. There are encounters you do know about that are scarier than unknowns.
Though, those as unknowns are pretty terrible as well.





Huh. An ambush?


And a dude who is really freaking out.


Well, that's the idea, isn't it?




Another Unknown de-unknowned. Or just plain known. In any case, it is also weak to Fire, so let's hit it with that.


And winning that fight leads to Pixie being no longer secretive about anything. At all. We shall eventually see why one wants to fully analyze things.



Crew: "I'm MacCleary, on the monitor team. You just bought me a little more time to live. Real demons... What kind of place is this? I'm not so sure anymore I'll be able to do what I'm supposed to... Oh yeah, speaking of which... I noticed a few things about the Moon Phase. I'll send a writeup over to your Demonica."




Well, that's another one sorted.



AAs we can see in the party status, Pixie is fully analyzed. It is strong against Fire, and possesses Agi and Dia. Not much to say about that, really.



This is only usable on demons, of course.


And here we have a door that is not locked. Hooray.



Crew: "Oh, thank god you're not a demon! Whew... I'm Muccino, on the Comms team. That Demonica... You're on the Strike Team, si? Then you must save Maebe too! I saw the demons chase her a bit farther away from here! I'm not armed, but you... You can save her! I'm going back to the Red Sprite. Help her, please!"




Three recovered, one to go, and that one is nearby.




Right there, even if she is invisible.




Crew: "You're Francis from the strike team, aren't you? I'm Maebe, in Maintenance! Help me... Help me!"




Well, that is convenient. Another demon about to attack a lost crewmate, and York arriving just in time to save the person in question.





By this point, it is not all that impressive.



The Slime got a bunch of weaknesses, doesn't seem like a particularly sturdy one either.



And York got a new level. A Strength increase would've been nice, I guess.
Will probably abuse the savestates later to see if it is randomly decided at the levelup moment, determined at the start of the fight or WHAT in the next levelup.



Maebe: "Look at this boulder, though... The demons were climbinb over this rock to get here. Could be their nest is beyond the boulder... Yeah, I'm thinking I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to. I'm going back to the ship. Don't worry about me, and good luck with your mission..."





"The crewman you rescued just now seems to be the last one who was unaccounted for. Well done, soldier. Your mission is complete."




"I'll deliver further briefing at the Red Sprite. Come back ASAP."



Surely that won't be important later.



While getting back to the ship, a demon was recruited.





And its analysis was increased. We shall see its profile later.


Because now we have to get more orders. Or something. That was an easy mission, all things considered.