Part 16: Sidetracked (II) - Solo

From El-Eal, we can choose to go back to the Island Nations, where we still have access to all the same things we did last time we were there. But, one thing has changed.



Lady Kika!

This time, we're jumped by Dario and Nalleo the moment we set foot in the pirates' nest.

Sorry about leaving you guys behind.

Those shady characters never showed up again.

When a pirate calls you shady, you know you're shady. When that pirate is Dario, well...

Okay. You guys come along this time.

Ya ain't kiddin'?!

Me too?

Yep. We need everyone we can get.
Let's go.

But what about Sigurd and the others?

We've got no choice. They're out right now.

If we returned on a water or fire day, we'd bump right into them before we got to Dario, but, well.

I suppose we could swing by another time.

Here's our hint that we're not missing anyone permanently or anything. And with that, Dario and Nalleo join the group! And if you look at their stats, Nalleo is already better. Not only are most of his stats higher, but he has more MOV (6, Dario has 5) as well. Six is the highest MOV will go on its own, and both of them have access to Godspeed on top of that.

Both of them come with Armor Defense just like Rita (and Dario has it permanently equipped). Both of them can also equip shields! ² And they come with the Shield Defense skill to go with it, which as far as I know is basically Parry without the unbalancing effect.

Now then, we have more fighting ahead of us, and technically I could just head up there right now, but ever since I got that question about soloing maps, I've been wondering...



I know I said it would probably be difficult, but I've never actually tried.



I should probably do something about that.

(The rest of this update is fighting. If you don't care, just skip to the end and look at the voting stuff.)



Hey, auntie, get out of here. This is man work.



Let's rock!



...I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?

Okay, so, tactics. The archer can just barely reach Kyril with both of them on their respective starting positions. Kyril, however, can't reach with his normal attack and only has one MP which I don't want to waste already. I move him back one step instead. Come to me, archer! I promise this will only hurt briefly.



The archer, somewhat understandably, would rather drop a wind bead.



Better luck on the second round.



Since I've given Kyril all the equips he can actually use, which includes the Knight Token (but not a Berserker Belt because he does not get Bull's Eye), he's pretty strong here. Strong enough, in fact, to one-shot bowmen.



But that's a lot of dudes.



Retreat for a bit, let them come closer, stab! One swordsman down.



The Wind of Sleep asshole is catching up and... not making Kyril sleep.



Still, the swordsmen are the ones who can actually deal damage, so he goes.



Nothing really interesting here but why is this dumb earth innate fuck placing wind terrain where he's standing?



And there it comes, the Wind of Sleep.



But... huh, that's nice of you - wait, one point of damage?! All that effort to avoid damage, and you hit me for one point.



Let me show my appreciation!



Wind of Sleep

But at least it's his last charge.



One damage.

ONE.

DAMAGE.



The mage is harmless, so I kill the archer instead.



You may remember seeing me give Kyril Counterattack at the start of this. Naturally, I thought, since all the enemies will be attacking him here, it's a perfect opportunity for counterattacks!

...yeah, that didn't turn out so well, and the results are another lesson in Why No Sane Person Should Exchange Extra Move For Anything Else, Ever, For Any Reason.



Busk starts moving, and it doesn't take him long to cross the map. I set up some fire terrain.



That's him, hitting from neutral terrain, with Kyril on native terrain, and wearing all the defensive gear he can get his hands on. Busk is not to be taken lightly!



But it's cool. I got this.



Oh, you have Counterattack, too? Heh. Let me show you what I think of that.





EXTRA MOVE



wait

fuck

don't heal him



Kyril murders more dudes and gains a level he won't get to keep. Busk, meanwhile, continues to be a dick.



Damn it, archer! This won't benefit me at all!



Without Extra Move on my own, I can't hit Busk without leaving myself on neutral terrain... while he's on native terrain. And of course, he can still hit me and go right back to where I can't hit him.

This sucks.



It really, really sucks!



Getting rid of the archer. Busk backstabs, but at least it's not from native terrain.



The fucking mage crits me.

(This obviously cannot stand, so naturally I retaliate with bloody murder on Kyril's next move.)



Just the two of us now! And Busk can still backstab me and run back to fire terrain to heal. This requires some thought.



Maybe over here...



No, this won't do. Won't do at all!



Damn it!



What do you think about this?



Well, he can only hit me from the front on this turn.



And that means I finally have a good chance to counter him!



Oh fuck yes!



Oh fuck no!



Fucking-



well okay then



Okay, eat it-



-goddammit stop dodging my attacks and hitting me back!



Kyril contemplates running, but he's nowhere near fast enough to get away.



How about up here, then?



Acceptable.



All right, this is going better-



shitshitshitshitshit



shitshitshitshitshit



wait



...oh. Okay then.



Kyril gets another level he's not going to get to keep.

Worst thing, though?



I still got a fucking B rank.



I have no idea how that's possible. So many rounds (many of them not on native terrain), so much damage taken... B rank. Fucking hell. The ranking system in this game can fuck right off.

But anyway, that's the story of how Kyril somehow stumbled his way through El-Eal without any backup and vowed to never attempt this ever again _{even though the outcome would be very different if I went back and did less retarded things with his skill setup}.

The end.

Voting time:

We've decided to recruit Dario and Nalleo. Another battle is coming up, and once again we have eight characters. Do we boot someone for the newcomers? Vote for either no change or change.

If you pick the latter, also note whether you want to include one or both, and vote for one or two characters from the previous party to kick out. (Obviously, only one if you only wish to include one of the new people.)

For example: Change - take Dario - boot Andarc

Kyril is still required for this fight and can't be removed. Anyone else is fair game. (For reference, the current party is Kika, Seneca, Maxine, Rita, Rene, Andarc, and Flare.)

And as always, bold your votes.