Part 91: Lap 9
Lap 9
There isn't actually as much interesting stuff in Lap 9 compared to the last Lap.
Crystals are really handy for eating up Reflect Sorceries so your Sorcerers won't take lots of damage from their own spells.
Gabriel drops another Holy Wand of Telos, and Roienburg another Dinosaur's Rage, if you're using multiple Sorcerers or Lancers.
We also have our last few equipment drops. The Bloody Knuckles are from one of the enemies on the floor just after Gabriel, and are Auguste's ultimate weapon.
9999 ATK with the Power Bangle, and over 9000 even if I take it off. I can now swap out Fists of Iron for something like Knockout Blow. Auguste also finally gets back three attacks after spending the entire Lap with just two.
Enemies are hitting harder now, and even Sorcerers are getting some of their bite back.
Enemies' stats are also rising accordingly.
Sweet, sweet damage.
Kristoff has Ushio's ultimate katana. As one should expect by now, the Kotetsu has 7000 ATK, three attacks and SC enabled.
My first time doing the Gate, it was with a team of Ushio/Auguste/Valmur/Duwain. It was an okay team but it was really slow at times since I didn't have a Sorcerer. Really nice and high hit counts at times though. This is only the second time I'm running the Gate this far, and I can't imagine doing it without Auguste or Natalia - they have way too much use for me to discount them.
I would have laughed at the start of the LP if someone had told me I'd be using Crystals in the Seraphic Gate. But I guess there's always new things to be discovered.
And our last weapon drop comes from Arngrim - the Tyrfing is the best greatsword. If you've been keeping track, that also means Swordsmen get kind of stuck with a 5000 ATK weapon.
Like Auguste, Arngrim can now take off Fists of Iron. Also we're almost at 99,999 HP!
Even Ether Strikes are tolerable now.
The Knockout Blow combination is really handy since if you're lucky, one character can kill enemies all by themselves, massively saving on time.
The Queen's stats are very high now. Doesn't help her RDM though.
She also hits hard enough that without some form of Holy resistance, you're likely to die, even with Resist Magic. Cloak of Britannia and Mirror Plate up!
(My first run party had no females, so it was all up to Duwain.)
We still kill her in a single combo thanks to Sap Guard. 400k+ damage is indeed possible. Also since Arngrim and Auguste have 9999 ATK now, I use Hundred Hands to finish off combos instead of Final Blast since it has a better multiplier.
One of the Queen's lackeys drops an Eternal Garb, by the way. There is no armour to be gotten in the next lap, so if you're missing any, get it on this lap while you can.
More Revelations!
The Seventh Revelation:
"Poor Lenneth, I am afraid you'll have to wait,
your beloved necromancer is yet unborn at this date."
The Eighth Revelation:
"Avert your eyes, and hold your breath,
for I am none other than... none other than..."
The Ninth Revelation:
"Silent are souls not amid birth and death,
but nothing can quiet the great Leza... Why won't you let me say it?"
Hmm... let's just go to the scene.
---
It's Mireille's...
And Mischka's...
"Hello, everybody! I'm a game planner and I'll never, ever, never grow up!"
... Anyway, "We'd originally planned on a fun little fantasy game that you could beat in ten hours. "But before you knew it... it turned into THIS.
"Somehow, there's as much text in this game as there was in the last. "They told me the project wouldn't even take a year to finish...
The screaming really brings it home. I sense there might have been a conspiracy behind this.
Well, it matters little now. To squander one's youth making a game is sad, sad irony. I'm sure there's a silver lining in there somewhere.
There he goes again.
I'm sorry no one paid attention to you in the game, but this isn't the place!
---
Kristoff:
For a prince with such a gentle expression, Kristoff is capable of some pretty mean swordplay.
Often while his councillors busy themselves chewing his ears off with prolix political lectures, Kristoff stares vacantly into the distance, fantasizing about splitting monsters in two with his blade.
---
Langrey:
Langrey was taught to wield a blade alongside Kristoff when the two were little, but the elder brother proved too clumsy and unathletic to be of any worth as a swordsman, and so the bookish youth took to the solitary and utterly stationary study of sorcery.
Only once in an age does one born gifted in the arts of magic ascend to the throne of Artolia. Yet for all Langrey's posturing, the mere act of rising to the throne leaves him short of breath.
---
Roienburg:
The fosterage of the princes twain may at first sound a noble and rewarding calling, but the tears on Roienbourg's pillow will attest to the relentless manner in which the precocious little brats abused him. Regardless, he cared genuinely for Langrey and Kristoff, and raised the athelings as though they were his own.
The other nobles, seeking to compound his misery, gave Roienbourg grief to no end with their petty mischief, planting tacks in his boots and affixing "kick me" signs to his cape whenever he wasn't looking.
Moving away from the royal palace prove a much-needed escape for him and his kin. Roienbourg now enjoys the familiar company of his chamberlain, Marleigh, who at one time led the margrave's legion into battle under the moniker "Marleigh the Merciless."
---
Lenneth:
Star-crossed valkyrie condemned for simply doing her job. Despite the fact that Lenneth is guiltless in all of this, the overly pensive valkyrie cannot help but reflect on how she might have averted tragedy, and holds herself accountable.
If you're wondering why she's looking so glamorous this time around, it's because she's a different woman from the one you knew before.