Part 104: The Adephagos at Nordopolica

Let's actually help out Nordopolica now.





Watch the cutscene & battle!



That black thing... That's what we saw in the Sands of Kogorh!
That was Phaeroh's vision. This is real. Be careful.
It looks like it's trying to eat the aer of the shield!
Is the Adephagos drawn to aer...?
This thing looks pretty mean.
Come on!







This boss is pathetic. Despite the ~140k HP on both monsters they go down very quickly, and their attack patterns are pretty much the same as what we fought back in the desert.







There isn't even a secret mission for this fight. I think the Nightbreaker can change the weather to Night and the Daybreaker to Day but they certainly didn't get a chance to do that.




Hold your position! We're gonna stop them here!





Things are getting wild around here.
Y-You are... !

Fade out, fade in.



It seems that this was the only city to be attacked. What bad luck.
This isn't about luck.



I went to check the barrier blastia. Its power had been raised. And I guess the monsters were drawn to it. The power is returned to normal now.
We thought raising the power will protect us but, it turned out to be the opposite. I'll go see the citizens. Feel free to rest here as long as you please.
Thanks for the offer but we still have business to do. We better get moving.
You are all welcome at anytime. Try stopping by when you have time.
Thanks.



Skit: The Threat of the Adephagos
Eew... I can't believe the Adephagos could spawn such a disgusting monster.
Arooo.
The illusion Phaeroh showed us... He was trying to make us feel the power of the Adephagos.
But it's no illusion this time... Oh man, are hordes of these things just gonna attack everything?
Woof! Woof!
Aaah! Ow! Hey, no biting!
Grrr!
It's all right, Repede. He's just a little nervous, that's all.
And what's wrong with being a little nervous? I'm not gonna run away or anything. I swear!
Aroof! Woof!

Nothing for us to do here except running back outside.

Watch the cutscene!



Yeah. It looks like he's doing a good job leading since Belius passed away.



Not right now. Once everything's settled down, though, let's give him a nice surprise.
Okay.
...That monster. Palestralle was no match for it. I can't figure it out...



Maybe there's something different about us...
The spirits, perhaps?
If the Adephagos really is close to aer, then the spirits might actually affect it.
So can we put up more of a fight if we get the other three?
Who knows... The four elements alone could control aer, but...we're talking about the Adephagos. I just don't know.



There aren't many Entelexeia left, either...



Yes. They're an indispensable part of our society.
And cores are just pieces of apatheia. So if the four spirits aren't enough...



Are you nuts? How do you propose to do that?
Even if we knew how, we'd still have to go to every single blastia. I doubt the Adephagos would wait for us.
I think that's your specialty, genius.
...Oh no. This is your genius plan.
...Even if Yuri's plan worked... ...all the blastia would stop working, wouldn't they?
Yeah, I guess so. All the cores would be gone.
What would the world become?
People would lose the safety promised by the barriers...



Even bodhi blastia wouldn't work. Oh...
There'll be a lot of unhappy people. But we have to do it...



Even if no one other than us understands.



Once we do that, then we can think about what to do next.
Yeah.
Ba'ul knows where the other Entelexeia are, right?
Yeah. Let's get back to the ship and ask him.


Watch the cutscene!



The shining forest of Erealumen, and the root of the world, Relewiese...
I've never heard of those places.
Ba'ul says he knows. However...
?
He doesn't want to tell us. Apatheias only come from the death of Entelexeia.
He doesn't want to put his friends in danger...



We want to protect the world. But we don't want to sacrifice anyone for it. We won't just take the apatheia by force.
Ba'ul...please.
Tell us where the Entelexeia are.





Relewiese is...on the continent of Weccea.
Thank you, Ba'ul.
We also need to go to the Sands of Kogorh, where Phaeroh is.
Right.
...Northeast Tolbyccia. I wonder if that's the place where a new land just recently crystallized.
Weccea's that continent to the south of Ilyccia, where the capital is. Right?
Weccea...
"The emperor Calx III sent scouting parties four times in order to claim the land. But every time, they lost communication, and no one ever returned. It's the last unexplored land on Terca Lumireis."
Why does it have to be a place like that...?
If Weccea's that bad, then let's leave Relewiese for last.
...He says he'll leave things up to you.
Thanks, Ba'ul.



Back on the world map, let's check out those two places:



The Erealumen Crystallands are way up north, and indeed the easier -- or at least less annoying -- of the two.



The Relewiese Hollow is to the southeast, and is the only notable area on that continent, apart from a few search points.


But before we do any of that, you guessed it, more sidequesting. Let's start with an event in Aspio with an awesome reward.






Sure, go ahead.
All their blastia research might be useless pretty soon anyway...
All right, I'll try not to be too long.




Wow, things have gotten pretty bad.
Spirits, huh...
So you're saying you want to take our blastia research away from us?
People can't live without blastia! I don't like this idea one bit!
You all sure talk big for a bunch of amateurs with underfunded research that no one cares about.
What did you say?!
You wanna rumble?
I didn't come here to listen to you have your petty arguments! Can you just put your emotions on hold for a few minutes?
Anyway, it's as I told you. We mages will soon be unable to simply continue with our studies of blastia. I just thought it would be best if I let you know.
We can't accept what you've told us.



Even if you're the best brain in Aspio, you're still a child.
Adults are reluctant to pay heed to the words of one so young as you. Surely that's all it is.
That's really...not the issue here.



Right. We'll do something about that stubborn bunch!



Is it really okay to leave so soon? I mean...
It's fine. Let's go.


We just leave the area and come back, and...




Look at this...!



...That's...!
It's magic using spirits. It's not yet complete, though.
Pretty nice, eh? This guy managed to work out the spirit formula.
Nah, this is nothing, really.
I have to say, I'm impressed that you managed to cast a spell like this.
Heh heh, please, you're too kind.
You've already started doing spirit research despite all of your objections earlier? Don't you think that's a little hypocritical?
We're still continuing our blastia research.
We've just added one more area in which to focus that research!
Well, not that I mind or anything. So, what sort of formula is it?
Don't be so nosy!
We're all mages of Aspio, aren't we? We can be civil to each other. We can trust you to keep the construction of this formula an Aspian secret?
Of course.
First you draw a textual formula around the outside edge to isolate the fire attribute...



As researchers, their desire to study new things is too powerful to fight.
Yeah. They may be older than Rita, but these mages are all made of the same stuff.



How would you do it?
Hmmmmm...
I've got it! Like this...!






Hell yeah!



...Hey hey... That's just too powerful!
S-sorry...
But...I think that we can use this!
Yes. What do you think?
Yes... Do you mind if I use it?
Well, we'd prefer something a little less volatile.
We're going to see if there might be a slightly more practical direction we can take it in.
Right... Let me give it some more thought, as well. If I come up with a better way to use that formula, I'll let you know.
Thanks a lot!




Meteor Storm is a staple of the Tales series, and usually one of the, if not the most powerful regular spell in the game.











It does pretty much what you would guess from the name. The only bad thing about this spell is that it's possible to completely miss an enemy with it, but apart from that, it's great.


Next time: More sidequesting!