Part 34: Tales of Side Quests (I)

Now that we have the Rhea-Birds we can go almost everywhere. There's a few dungeons we can't access for one reason or another, but if its on the world map we can at least check it out.



We'll be checking this place out at last, but we won't actually be doing anything of importance here just yet. We could very easily handle what's in here but there's one thing I want to test first.

Skit: Increased Air Time



: Hey, was doing this impossible for any other spirit?
: Not at all. I mean, before you were able to fly using Pegasus' power, right?
: Oh, that's right.
: So then why did we go to all the trouble with Volt?
: Since Volt's power is electrical in nature, it can effectively maintain itself over long periods of time.
: Hm, I don't really get it...
: but whatever.

Skit: A Makeshift Bowyer



: A favor? Well, ask away.
: I want you to increase the distance my bow can fly.
: Hey, come on, do I look like a bowyer to you? If you want to fix your bow...
: That's not it, I mean Volt.
: Can't you do something using his electrical energy?
: It's probably impossible. Your bow doesn't fly using electrical energy.
: It isn't like the Rhea-Birds.
: Man, and it was such a good idea too...



I might be imagining things, but this place looks familiar.



This thing's on the ground floor and it leads to exactly where you think it does. We're not bothering to climb the tower today; doing that would take too long.



Instead, we're checking out this statue where the Valkyrie was a while ago.



Sweet free treasure and it's right there. This seems way too easy though, so it might be a good idea to prep for what's coming up.



Setting up a Mithril Mesh with two Reflect Rings gives a 90% chance of a Light elemental attack being completely nullified. As ridiculously cheap as this is, there's a piece of armour that combined with one accessory grants complete immunity to Light. We'll, uh, we'll pretend that combination doesn't exist since it takes all the fun out of things.

I'd do this without the armour and rings but at this stage that's fucking crazy. Like, I'd have to avoid ever getting hit levels of crazy and with Cless as weak as he is for this that's just not going to happen.



???: I am Odin.
: Odin!?
Odin: Do you have the courage to demonstrate your power?
: Yes.
Odin: Then do you have the courage to face me alone in battle?
: Yes.
Odin: Then show me!
: As you wish!!



Fighting Odin solo is not particularly "easy." The dude's regular attacks are light elemental and hurt quite a fair bit if you don't block, and don't nullify light in the first place. On top of that, he can cast Indignation and God Breath and goddamn does he cast them fast. Oh, and he has 100,000 HP which is pretty fucking insane and we aren't beating him yet. We could, it'd take a ridiculously long time though since this shows how incredibly weak the Damascus Sword is. Even with an active attack boost, Cless barely scratches the dude. Totally not worth the hassle at the moment.



: Are you all right, Cless?
: He's too powerful...
Odin: The problem is that you're too weak!! You must set out once again on the eternal path of training.

Skit: A... Teething... Fever?!



: Are you all right? Maybe we should rest.
: I was thinking too hard, and I got a teething fever.
: A teething fever, isn't that...
: Let it go. She really may have a teething fever.
: B, because she's a Half-Elf?
: No, because it's her.

Skit: Time For A Break?



: What are you talking about? We don't have time.
: That's right. We have to hurry to Alvanista.
: I, I know that! I was just saying for a little bit...
: Now, let's hurry to Alvanista!
: Yeah, we shouldn't keep His Majesty waiting.



We could grind to take down Odin but at this stage that's slow and not very interesting. There's a plethora of ways to speed it up later so we'll head on out to Freyland and take a look at that island we could see on the world map.



There's not much here but this house. What kinda weirdo lives out in the middle of nowhere?



A dwarf apparently. Geeth was the dwarf who apparently helped the elves make the pact rings so many millenia ago at this point, so he's long dead. The blacksmith that runs this shop is his decendant (the old dude says that and then explains valuables for some reason). The three stores in this place are all useful in their own way. The kid on the right...



That description is so misleading it's not even funny. It makes it sound like it's just the Technical Ring again but with a different name. It's really not. The Combo Command is a very, ahem, unique accessory that only three people can use (I'm sure you can guess who the third is); it basically turns the combat system into a fighting game. Y'know, like Bloody Roar or Tekken or whatever all the cool kids play nowadays. It's stupidly gimmicky and I don't like it but I know someone out there does.



The girl sells some very nice armour for the guys (that we won't buy yet) and a massive weapon upgrade for Chester. It's not worth buying since we can get a better one for much, much cheaper. Not free, but not stupidly expensive either.



And the last dude wants some Ivory which is debately not worth the hassling of finding for this dude. The item he makes from it is good and all but Ivory isn't particularly easy to come by.



Okay, yes, there's one piece hidden just outside the shop but this one's a gimme. The only place to reliably get it is as a drop from a whole 2 enemies; neither of which are particularly willing to cough it up. There's a handful of pieces in a whole one dungeon too but navigating that place is fucking terrible.

If you'd rather get some cash for your hard work instead, Ivory counts as a valuable so you can go around the world looking for the best place to sell it for some easy money. Speaking of valuables we've still got those Cordyceps from the White Birch Forest and 50 years is plenty of time for them to regrow so let's go get some more.



On the way there though, we can find that what remains of Midgard is... a crater. How the hell does Harrison et al. think continuing Magitech is a good idea when this is happened to the last place that was doing it? Darwin would be proud.



12 of these makes some great money if we sell them for their maximum price. Before we head to where we can do that, though, we need to make a very quick stop at Alvanista. There's two NPCs there that have sidequest flags attributed to them.



Since I managed to do so well at the racing mini-game in the past, this dude gives a bunch of ingredients. I didn't plan for that but I'm not gonna complain.



We need to talk to this gal to get Aska later (spoilers we're getting Aska later). If we don't, the option to get Aska flat out doesn't appear.



Ninjas are hidden in the elves' forest. That's certainly, um, something. Much like with Aska, we can't find the village, even if we know exactly where it is, without talking to this guy.



We'll head to the Elves first since they have more than an upgrade waiting. Arche still can't come with us so she waits at the entrance again.



At the grocery store at the Elven Village we can grab a second TP restoration recipe.

...This guy also teaches a second recipe, but since he's the only one in the entire game that does that I kinda forgot about it for a while.



And at the inn, we can catch up with Brambard.

: It's been so long! I haven't seen you for... Wasn't that over 150 years ago?
: Y, yeah, that's about right.
: It's hard to keep track of time these days...



: This village hardly looks the same as it once did, right? 150 years ago,when you all restored peace to this broken world, my thinking changed. In this world, there truly were humans who understood us. The King of Alvanista is another one of them. Past kings have made efforts to reach out and absorb our culture, as well as elevating the status of the Elves.
: However, even after all that suppsed change, Half-Elves are still forbidden from coming here?
: Among our people, there still remain some that are fearful that they will once again repeat past mistakes.
: ...Past mistakes?



: Are you aware that most of the researchers working in Midgard were actually Half-Elven?
: Midgard's researchers!?
: But I thought that the Elves had almost no diplomatic relationship over there.
: Yes, that's exactly right. The power of the Elves was an absolute necessity to them. Their attempts to use Sorcery as a military power was an unforgivably reckless choice to us. However, the Half-Elves, unlike the Elves, readily went along with the humans. Thus was Sorcery forged into a weapon of unbelievable power. For humanity to have a weapon of that nature... You saw its power for yourself. Magitech very nearly caused the Yggdrasil to wither away and, even now, that terrible research goes on.
: Please wait a moment! I don't believe it's right to group all Half-Elves together just for the sake of simplicity.
: What about Arche...
: You may be right. It's not as if every Half-Elf in the world lent Midgard a hand in their work. Perhaps we, bearing the same burden of controlling Sorcery, should help to guide them. At any rate, I plan to once again consider the status of the Half-Elves.



: For example, the Rhea-Birds, even small lamps... They all use the same power, do they not?
: You're right. Thank you. With that kind of thinking, they may be hope for us yet. When the world is at peace, I plan to again confront the issue of the Half-Elves.

You done? Okay, good. We didn't come here to get a wall of text. We came here to make use of something we picked up about 20 hours ago.



Bowyer: Sorry to tell you, but there aren't any weapons for sale here. The bows here are made only for simple hunting.
: Bows?
: Then, do you think it might be possible to repair this bow?
: Isn't that...!?
: Yeah, Chester, it's your old bow. After being sent to the past, Mint and I found it lying nearby when we awoke. We were sure that some day, it would again lend us strength.
Bowyer: What do you want me to do? Shall I repair it for you?



That's a fucking bargain and you'd be mental to not snatch it up. Seriously. Go back and look at how much the Crescent Arrow would cost to buy. This costs much less, has a higher attack stat, a MUCH higher accuracy increase and is non-elemental to boot (the Crescent Arrow is Light).

This is gonna take some time though, so let's head to the inn for now.



At the inn, Arche's mother gives us a few things just for talking to her. How nice.



The Star Broom is a nice upgrade for Arche when we can give it to her. Until then it just sits in the inventory. The Mother's Gloves aren't what I'd unquestionably call Arche's best gloves but they're a good contender at least. They grant a mere 8 defence but reduce Earth, Water, Fire, Wind AND Thunder damage.



After staying at the inn, we can head back to the bowyer and pick up one of Chester's best weapons.



As amazing as this thing is, it's still not the best though. Not by any means; it's merely his third best bow. The +200 to Accuracy helps a ton either way; he'll be using this for quite a while so the boost helps.

And that'll do for dicking around. At least for the time being. The stuff at the super secret hidden ninja village is pretty lengthy so we'll be seeing what that's all about at another time.