Part 47: Sidetracked (XVIII) - Stones of Happiness

So, frog skins, then.



Mido Shallows is full of frogs. Let's get to horribly killing them all!



...what, Lazlo? Nah, he'll be fine.



'specially since the dumb ass frogs keep hitting each other...



Can you believe that's all I got from all those fucking frogs? But it's all I needed because I already had two, so! Let's go hand in that quest.



wait what

Oh, okay. This unlocks once you have access to Mido and if I remembered that I'd have started digging for them while I was killing frogs.



Anyway.



That's worth 1000 Potch and 500 SP.



But we also get... uh.



Very good then!

I think all adult female characters can wear it (so Corselia can't give Martin a heart attack the next time we see him) and one of them probably will because damn, that DEF!



This unlocks after you complete the frog stuff, and just like last time I have two and need to hunt down the last.



Cedric isn't really necessary, but here's what his special skill looks like.



Lazlo murders all the enemies in our path, Cedric swaps out for Noah, Noah steals the shell right off this crab's back.



Done.



At least it's relatively painless.

This time we gain 1500p, 500sp...



...and another really nice piece of equipment. It's not as defensive as the platinum gear from Chiepoo's store, but that strength boost is definitely worth it!



This one, though... we're not going to have much luck with. I've read that diamonds are found by digging in Mido or Terana, but I tried both with no success so we're just going to have to wait for one to fall into our hands. Because just like the previous two, we have two and need one more.



Oh, and X also asks for them here, but you know what we think about that at this point.



Anyway, stones of happiness. If you'll notice the map here, we've been running back and forth over Graska, but fortunately it doesn't suck us into another cutscene just by touching it, unlike some of the others.



You think Lazlo is sick of this place yet?



The sight of that giant crab up on top probably cheers him up a bit, though!



This place is jam packed with dig spots. Platinum, aside from the quest where we handed one in for 20k Potch, sells for 10k in stores, so this isn't bad at all; it just doesn't lead to completing any quests.



Yoink! Don't need this any more, but fuck you.



The Metal Crab (which you may recognize from the Suikoden IV thread!) can breathe lightning over a large area, but it's more narrow than the fire-type's breath attack.



It turns the terrain into lightning as well, which is bad for Noah, but also for most of the enemies. Also pictured, the first rock. She gets a level for it, too, but eh.



With nothing better to do with his third level spell slots, Lazlo triggers his magic sword. This has the added benefit of making you permanently stand on the sword's terrain until the spell expires, even if you get hit with an effect from another element, like the crab's breath or the blue fishman's magic.



Give me your skinnnnnnn!



Everything just die already.



Wow, like you needed to get more overpowered. Still, a third rune slot wouldn't be unwelcome.



This spell has already done more good in Tactics than it ever did in IV, and we haven't even finished the game yet!



I'm not even going to think about how this works.



Stop being so awesome, you're going to put the rest of the party out of work!



Damn it Rene, are you even trying



But somehow we managed to get all the rocks in one go. Awesome! And the mercenaries didn't show up to try and take them from us or anything, so I'm not sure what that was all about. Anyway, we'll go hand them in. As always, Chiepoo's reward is underwhelming, a mere 2500p and 800sp, but I've ceased to be surprised.



The shallows have quite pretty artwork, by the way!



This is me trying and failing to obtain that last diamond.



Sadly, after multiple attempts, I gave up.



There were more levels here, but only one of them from Lazlo, so I'll just skip showing them. It's not as if Rene has use for most of her stats anyway.



Nope!



Maybe we'll have more luck after a quick rest.

Nnngh!

(He's standing over to the side punching the air.)

Uh, y-yes?

Nnngh!
NNNGH!

What do you think of me? Don't be shy, now...

Oh dear, this is ending well.

Nnngh!
Nnngh!
NNNGH!

...

Ah, I-I--

Nnngh!
Nnngh!
NNNGH!
NNNGH!





*ahem*
I do beg your pardon.



Wh-Wha--??

(Nnngh!)
(Nnngh!!)





I...
I think you're...
One s-scary lady...

...okay, I feel better now.



Even if we don't get any diamonds, the trip is not entirely fruitless.



Mitsuba gets a chance to show off her second level tech.



Not too shabby!



This isn't shabby either... but it's no diamond.



This is damn close to being a diamond, though.



Let's give this a shot. Maybe we'll have better luck with all the water emptied out of our shoes.

Hey, Corselia.

"Stop eyeing that bondage outfit. I don't care how much of a dick he is, no parent deserves seeing that."

Seneca's such a good person, don't you think? She's taught me so many things...

Such as?

"Sense of dread, quickly escalating!"

Well, growing up as royalty, all your meals are prepared for you. So she's taught me how to cook... How to conserve water while washing clothes...

She's certified!



Heh, yeah... There's more to Seneca than just being a crack shot with a crossbow.

Plus, she taught me how to tease Andarc...

I think that might be her speciality...

Bahaha. I, uh, can't exactly disagree.



He seems to be doing pretty well, though!



Both of them, really.



And Corselia too.



Sadly, that's really all we're getting out of this. I found some gold ore, but even that isn't all that useful any more.



So let's take one last nap before moving on.

Is that so...? You seem to use it up at alarming rates.
Well then, shall I teach you how to procure it locally, just in case?

It seems like Yu has been feeling guilty about this for some time. He's really a much better person now than he was in IV.



But Dr. Yu! That medicine is a trade secret!

Known only to select bakers around the world.

Procure it locally?! P-Please teach me! *cough cough*

First, you need to acquite some wheat flour.

Doctor...

I'm not sure how wise it is to tell the world's first hypochondriac you've been feeding him placebo for the past several years. The shock might just kill him even if his "disease" doesn't.

Flour? Come on, Doctor! Quit kidding around. Tell me the real method! *cough*
Or at least tell me the ingredients! *cough*

But odds are he wouldn't believe it no matter how hard you tried to explain it to him.

The ingredients? Um, well, wheat flour...

Doctor! Can't you see that I'm on my deathbed here??

...you know what, I give up.



Oh, I get it! The medicine I'm taking is a super-secret elixir! And that's why all you can do is kid around, right?

...

Okay, Doctor! *cough* I'll keep buying your medicine. But make sure you keep plenty in stock. *cough*



I couldn't agree more.

...
All right, yes, you just keep coming to see me a bit longer.

Yes, Doctor! *cough cough cough*

...

Next up, Graska.