Part 8: Chapter 2-2: The Reaper

This'll be a fairly short update, everyone. I just wanted to keep the wheels spinning, so to speak. Still, a few interesting things happen in a short amount of time.

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Chapter 2-2: The Reaper



I'd like to start off this update with the nightmare of my Wizardry existence - Ninjas.

I cannot emphasize enough how much I hate fighting ninjas in this game. They not only share Kyo's advantages, but some of the said advantages are much stronger in them than in your characters. They have twice as much evasion as Kyo, they usually get to strike first, and they have the ability to kill on a critical hit from the front or back row. I should also take a moment to explain one of my PCSX2 glitches related to ninjas. I call it the Erotic Ninja glitch.

You see, my video card doesn't like to work too hard. If a game on PCSX2 becomes graphically intense, it slows the FPS so it isn't hurried to work faster. This normally isn't a problem, because the slowdown is usually over in a couple of seconds until the emulator catches up.

However, whenever I encounter a ninja, the FPS plummets from 60 to about 20 or 25. I'm not even kidding. The emulator suddenly crawls along, while the camera slowly and painstakingly pans over the ninja's burly physique to music that is played at about 1/4 speed and ends up sounding kind of like the opening line to some kind of stripper's stage performance.

Hence, the Erotic Ninja glitch. I'll try and capture some video of this phenomenon in a future update. Since I already know at least one boss in this game is a ninja, I have plenty to look forward to. Anyway, let's move on.



The Old Jail, in addition to having a non-functional elevator, also has a non-functional moving bridge. We need to find the switch to activate it, moving it to another floor so we can eventually turn back on the power to the elevator.

You encountered a warrior who was walking cautiously as he looked around.

The warrior smiled bashfully and scratched his head as he noticed you.



- I've finally made it up to here. I don't want to encounter monsters anymore. Be careful if you're going down. The 3rd Floor is confusing. It changes every time you enter. Nothing good ever happens there. You'll encounter all these enemies while you get lost. But, one thing... you won't feel the presence of the Reaper. Just make sure you get plenty of experience before you challenge the 3rd Floor.

You departed with the warrior who was going back to town.

The warrior is mostly right about third floor. It goes all Diablo on you by randomizing itself. And, indeed, there's a lot of enemies, many of them new and fairly intimidating. But, there's some fairly good stuff there too. One's kind of a luck of the draw, though. Again, we'll see this later on.

In the meantime, we have a story-powered event in the bridge's power room!

http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4530896/

As you opened the door, Pixies were flying around playfully. One of the Pixies had a ring with jewels.



(Middle) - Hehe, this is rare... It figures that somebody of high social status has nice things.

(Left) - It's pretty! Give it to me!!

(M) - No way! I'm the one who found it. This is mine! Getting into the collapsed underground temple was hard work, ya know! If you want one, go look yourself!

As you grimaced at their screeching voices, the Pixies noticed you.

(M) - Look... adventurers!

(L) - They've got lots of pretty stuff!

(Right) - Give us some stuff! Pretty stuff and... your life!!



Eh?



oh no what ever shall i do some body please help me

(Two seconds later)



I really hope this isn't some form of Elvish...

For my beloved Otelier.

L.A.

It seems to be Queen Otelier's ring, but why is it here?

At that moment of uncertainty, your memory grew hazy.





She was so happy with this ring on her hand.

And what did she say?

She said...



- Memories that have long gone and can never be replaced... The person who gave me this ring no longer exists. I will never be able to see those eyes full of kindness. That person disappeared after giving me the ring. And, I... In place of that person, I was given an outstanding guard. But, ...........

- As I touch this ring, I can recall my memory from many years ago, as if it were yesterday. The memories come back so vividly.

You came to your senses as your comrades called out to you.

It's still too early to dream.

You smiled wryly as you put the ring away.

You got the Queen's Ring!

So, in case you didn't already guess that there's more to our hero than meets the eye, this flashback should demonstrate something of his background.



This is the switch we need to move the bridge.



Why exactly they felt the need for a wooden bridge with a rope pulley system instead of, say, a few more feet of stone is beyond me. But hey, as if that was Duhan's only problem, right?



The way further down from the bridge room is blocked by debris. So, we're going to have to go back up to that rope bridge and cross it to eventually activate the elevator.

http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4531045/







Sweet hell...

You heard beast-like grunts approaching. What came up the stairway was a group of the Undead.



The Undead, until now, always attacked living beings, but they were just gazing at you presently.

The Undead started walking fearfully with their arms stretched forward. And then, they started falling like marionettes that had gotten their strings cut.





It was like a breath of darkness. There was something different in general about this feeling than before.

Suddenly, hate blew upward in the form of a hot wind. The ground was giving off a burnt smell and emitted an eerie light.

Something was trying to change in substance.

It was definitely something evil.





What



The



CHRIST?!

That's right, everyone, Death is guarding a rope bridge in an old jail! He's got a deadly four hit combo attack, an arsenal of nasty spells at his disposal, and an ability which attempts to Fear the entire party at once. The Reaper also comes with two zombies, but they're nothing to write home about.



First, you'll want to assign two people to Spell Cancel duty every turn, as the Reaper's magic is capable of one-shotting many characters. Since the Reaper himself is not very susceptible to attack magic (As I found out the hard way), you may want to have your sorcerers taking care of this while your priests heal and/or Dispel to drop those zombies.



Well, until this happens. Then you're in trouble. Fear causes your characters to try and run away from battle. Naturally, since this is a boss battle, that's just a waste of time.

So, for the remainder of the fight, I have Kyo and Ricardo Double Slashing and Rui trying her best to be useful. Thankfully, the Reaper isn't nearly as strong as you might think.







- I've seen a lot of monsters, but that was a first... I'm still getting the chills. I felt like I was stuffed in a coffin throughout the whole battle. I think I'm gonna have nightmares for a while.



- Sadness, hatred, anger... So many emotions were flowing from him. Yeah... it's like the souls of the dead... are gathered inside of it. It's not a monster. It is death itself.



- I'm not sure if it's the smell, but I felt negative thoughts of destruction from it. It was very similar to the bad vibes I get from this Labyrinth.

- It feels like its evilness is stuck all over my body. Whatever it is, I wouldn't want to see it again.

- We haven't really beaten it. It just vanished. The main part of it is probably somewhere deep inside this Labyrinth. This may be a mission that was sent from God.

- The Flash... the countless monsters... and the incarnation of death... It just seems like we're all just in a bad dream. But, it's not like we're gonna wake up out of it.

See you guys next update.

Videos:

The Queen's Ring - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4530896/
Cheating Death - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4531045/