Part 15: Shaikos Ruins, Part 1

NOTE: This update's dungeon crawling is available in video form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQvGSnHi1rU

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Watch the cutscene!



Be careful over there. It's slippery.



I was just surprised. You're actually a nice person.
*Sigh* I knew it would be a pain to bring you along. I should've just come by myself...
Do you always come to research these ruins alone?
Yeah.
Aren't you afraid you'll get hurt by monsters or traps?
There are always risks if you're trying to actually do something. If someone gets hurt, it's an acceptable loss.
Even if you're the one who gets hurt?
Yeah.
Don't you ever worry or hesitate?
Worrying about getting what you want without anyone getting hurt? You've had a pretty easy life.



And blastia will never betray me. So they're easy to deal with.
Rita's amazing! She just comes right out and says what she has to say.
She knows exactly what's important to her.
I wish I knew what was important to me...
Just travel around for a while. You'll figure it out.

Skit: Searching the Ruins
These ruins feel very different once you're inside them.
Yeah, it's weird. And there's all this stuff I've never seen before...
What, is this your first time too, Karol?
Well, yeah. My specialty's monster hunting.
Hey, what do you think this is?
You really shouldn't be fooling around over there. This place is loaded with traps.
Did anyone else just hear a click?
Karol! Watch out!

Yuri tackles Karol away.

Waaaaah!
Sorry, I thought you were about to get killed. I overdid it.
I think I would have been better off getting caught in the trap...


The inside of the ruins is a lot more interesting than any other dungeon we had so far. It looks neat, has a couple sidepaths containing treasure, and even contains some switches to activate. But more on those later.





Going up the stairs to the left here leads to a cutscene.




Looks like this little one is no good...
Wow, so this is what blastia look like before they're excavated.
I wonder why ancient people buried blastia in ruins like this in the first place?
I wish I could tell you. That's something else being researched.
With all of these blastia here, I don't suppose there are any aque blastia lying around too...
None of them have cores in them.



Blastia aren't excavated with the cores and the bodies together.
"Cores produce magic through formulas. Bodies control that magic. The two combined are referred to as blastia. Each blastia possesses different attributes, and is marked by a crest that indicates those attributes. With current technology, blastia bodies can be manufactured, but the production of blastia cores is impossible."
So basically, cores are very valuable, since they have to be excavated. It's only natural that thieves would want to steal them.
That's not quite true. It seems Estelle's information is a little outdated.
What's outdated about it?
There's some degradation of quality, but there's been some success in the synthesis of simple blastia cores.
Really?!
That's why I wouldn't do anything stupid like go stealing people's cores!
If I had time to waste doing things like that, I'd rather be spending it researching better ways to completely restore incomplete or degraded cores. That's what being a mage is all about!
A noble creed. But that doesn't clear your name.



P-perhaps there are still some blastia left that can be used!

And a bit further...

Watch the cutscene!




Here, try shooting this at the core.
This ring's set with something that looks just like a blastia core.
"Glyph Crystallization of a formula allows this blastia to emit aer as needed."
That's not quite the best way to put it.



...But wait, how did you know that?
In the castle I read that the ring acts as a kind of key in ancient ruins.
Castle?
So all I do is point?
Just aim the Sorcerer's Ring at the core of that blastia. Face your target, and shoot.




...That's all it takes.



That's a strihm crest. It's a mark that indicates movement.
Huh. Interesting.




Hey, wh-what's that...?
A sentinel for taking care of unwanted guests.
Okay then, keep your eyes open and let's keep moving.
Are you sure? What if I'm just luring you deeper into the ruins so I can "zap" you?
I'm starting to think I'd rather try my luck with the golem.



Isn't this thing important or something?
We'll need to use it a few more times.
Okay, I guess I'd better hold it since I'm leading the way.

The Sorcerer's Ring pretty much appeared in every Tales game so far. You can shoot it at a variety of things to cause stuff to happen, such as activating switches, breaking barriers or stunning enemies.


Skit: The Sorcerer's Ring
I wonder if people a long time ago used little rings like this to move things around.
Yes, items like this have been discovered in other ruins, as well.
It sure is useful for something so small.
Yeah, unlike some people I could name.
Huh?
It's impressive that you've been entrusted with a Sorcerer's Ring, Rita. I've heard they're only given to a very small number of people.
Hmmm. Guess someone trusts you.
You're the only one who doesn't.


On our way back to the bridge we just activated, Yuri learns a very good arte.





Destruction Field is fairly powerful and fire-elemental, which can be very helpful against foes weak to fire.


When we reach the stairs, an enemy ambushes us!

Watch the cutscene and tutorial battle!



It looks like they've messed up our order... Let's take 'em down!
Woo, woof!



Surprise Encounters happen when an enemy on the map touches the party from behind. This causes party members not in the current battle party to get drawn into battle instead of the normal party. It's fairly predictable who gets replaced by whom, though: With our 5-man party right now, the party member in slot 5 will always replace the one in slot 4. (Also, the relative order of slots 2, 3 and 4 will rotate one slot to the right, which doesn't really matter unless you're playing multiplayer.)

During this battle, Repede learns Punishing Fang, which causes him to spin in place, hitting enemies around him.






Well, I guess we just can't ever let our guard down where there are monsters about.
If they attack from the rear, any of us could get pulled into battle.
Right...Let's be careful and hope that doesn't happen again.
Hmm. This only happens with a preemptive attack.
Preemptive attacks, eh...
What?

Another enemy shows up, from the right this time.



You guys! It's back!
Hit it with what I gave you just now!
Huh? You mean with this...?



Do it, now!





Advantage Encounters, on the other hand, happen when you stun an enemy with the Sorcerer's Ring before you run into him. This causes all enemies to be stunned for several seconds at the beginning of the battle.

Note that it's possible to combine both Surprise and Advantage Encounters with Linked Encounters.

Another new arte, by Estelle.



I didn't get a good shot of it, but it's Recover, which heals one ally's physical aliments (such as Poison or Paralysis).




I didn't know it can be used like that, too.
Right. Let's get a move on.


Now, there's actually three possible things that can happen when you hit an enemy with the Sorcerer's Ring.



One's the stun we just had in the tutorial, which causes an Advantage Encounter.



Then we have this freeze, which prevents the enemy from moving for a few seconds, but doesn't cause an Advantage Encounter when running into an enemy in this state.



And last but not least, there's a possibilty of the enemy just getting angry. This makes him chase you faster and more aggressively than he normally would, which often ends up in a battle that you probably wanted to avoid.


Skit: Rita's Calm Mind
Rita, you seem very used to fighting for someone who's been doing research in Aspio for so long.
I'm just used to using magic, and I've been working to cultivate a calm mind.
A calm mind, huh...?
Is there something wrong with that?
...Boo!

Ouch!!
Sorry, I thought you were a monster.
Argh... I'll startle you someday, you just wait...

Skit: Did You Say "Castle"?
Hey, didn't you say something about the castle not too long ago?
Oh? Yes, well, you see...
Yeah, I was in the castle a while back. I used to be a knight.
You? A knight?
Please, how gullible do you think I am?
Believe it or not, it's true.
...Will wonders never cease?
Is it really so hard for everyone to believe that?!
Come on, let's go.
Hey, they changed the subject on me...




Rita also learns an arte in one of the random battles here:





Champagne is a light water-elemental spell. I'm pretty sure the area of effect increases with repeated usage.







We can find a few more of those Sorcerer's Ring-switches, which all cause some bridges or stairs to rise up from below.







Skit: Nothing to Worry About
Hmm... If that ceiling collapsed, we'd be buried alive.
Wh-what are you saying stuff like that for, Estelle?! What if that really happened?
Come on, don't be such a wimp. These ruins are made of stronger stuff than that.

A sound of something collapsing can be heard in the background.

Ahhh!!
Estelle, now the ceiling's going to collapse because you were talking about it! ...Huh?
Oh, sorry. I just stubbed my toe on a rock.
...You did that on purpose, didn't you?
Yuri... You're mean...
C-come on, let's hurry and finish up what we're doing so we can get out of these ruins!





And that's it for this update. Enjoy the view of what we're going to do next time!



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Weapons we found in this update:


Critical Guard: Press forward while guarding to dash towards the enemy.
Defend: Increases physical defense by 5%.


Recover: Guard when thrown into the air or onto the floor to jump back into battle position.
Strength: Increses physical attack by 5%.


Critical Guard: Press forward while guarding to dash towards the enemy.


Backstep: Press back while guarding to jump away from the enemy.
Evade: Increases speed by 5%.