Part 10: Femme Fatales

Chapter 3: Femme Fatales



Before we go down to B3 proper, there's a few odds and ends to tie up along the way.

First, Gotz has a couple of traps for us to try. I made a video of the first set just to show you the basic style. It's not hard so much as it is repetitive.

http://blip.tv/file/4641490

I also went down to Helga's room, against all of my survival instincts, to show you all the idiocy that ensues. She literally annoys me so much that I can't even stand to transcribe her anymore, but here's the video for that, too.

http://blip.tv/file/4641562

If you really want a summary, though, here it is:

















God, I hate Helga so much.

Since we're nearby anyway, let's go visit the Imperial Quarters for our reward.

http://blip.tv/file/4641600





- We shall acknowledge your duties to Duhan and her Majesty. Thus, we shall grant you a reward.

As a reward, you received 30000 G!

An... an actual reward for doing a storyline quest?!

- We shall also grant you something that you, as adventurers, can use. Choose as you wish.



Basically, LeDua offers us a choice of a Magus Flail, Magus Armor, or a Sabarrets Stone. The armor and the stone are both okay choices, but the flail is the best for this party. Reason being is that it not only hurts the undead, but it also allows its wielder to attack twice.

Well then, go on and continue your search in the Labyrinth. I shall expect an even greater effort from you.

You suddenly remembered... and held out the Queen's Ring they obtaind in the 2nd Floor.

- This is...

LeDua squinted to get a better look.

You were surprised to sense an atmosphere of sadness.

You wondered why such a feeling was in the air.

- Where did you get this?

LeDua nodded slowly as you explained how you got the ring.

- This is the ring that Her Majesty had lost in the Flash. This ring was with her for a long time until then. Your Majesty, if you'll excuse me...

LeDua then took the Queen's hand and put the ring on her ring finger.

The ring, returned to where it belonged, seemed to sparkle with even more beauty.

But, the Queen gazed at it without any expression and only uttered a few words of appreciation.

- Now, go on.

You left the room without a nosie as you felt somewhat rejected by the unpleasant mood.

No reward for the bling, sadly, but I'm not complaining.



I like the icon for cloaks. I think this is the first one the party has picked up.

Anyway, there's a bit of new stuff going on back on B2 as well.

http://blip.tv/file/4641345



He... Help me...

A bloodied warrior came crawling.



- A retreat is out of the question!

- You're crazy! How do you expect to go up against such a swarm!

You can hear arguing voices from a distance.

- I have information that that person is in the Labyrinth! And you wanna retreat?!

- Who gives a shit! We shouldn't have to die here! If you want to die that badly, why don't you just go alone?!



- No matter how much you pay me, if I die, it's over.

A valiant girl with shortly trimmed forelocks was standing tall.

She bit her lip in anger and held back tears.



- Or... Do you intend to lend me a hand?



It'd be kind of an evil thing not to help her, I guess. Let's give her a hand.



- Th... Thank you very much. My name is Grace. May I ask for your name? Now Sagoon, I'll go in first. Come when I give you teh signnal. I'll lure the enemy, and then we'll attack from both sides.

Grace ran towards the room where the enemy was waiting.

Grace's clear voice echoed throughout the Labyrinth.

- Undead, return to where you belong, I say! God shall forgive you.

The Undead let out a cursed cry.

Grace's response was the sound of her sword.

You could hear the sound of her sword slashing their flesh along with her battle cries.

- Be careful! The Undead have headed your way!

As far as battles go, three zombies aren't exactly my idea of a hard time.

- Are you hurt?

Grace's cheeks were still flushed from the battle. Her slender shoulders were slowly moving up and down.

Grace stood straight up to hide that she was shaken.

- You must be an adventurer with some reputation, Sagoon. It's odd how the Undead are so close to ground level. I've heard that the Undead usually fear the town. Is it possible that God has abandoned Duhan?

Grace frowned suddenly when she mentioned God.

- No... that's not possible. There is no way He would abandon us.

The tone of her voice was such that she was trying to convince herself.

- I will not forget my indebtedness to you. Farewell...

We'll be seeing more of Grace later. As far as female characters go in this game, she's not so bad.



Anyway, let's finally go to B3, shall we? You just know it's going to be fun when it has a Diablo-esque loading bar.

http://blip.tv/file/4641378





At the other end of the passageway, a female warrior was fighting with a band of Undead.

The Undead attempted to maim the warrior, to tear apart her flesh and drag out her innards.

But the warrior swiftly parried the Undead's attacks, wounding them critically with her magic sword that casted a blue shine.

At the end, without having laid a finger on the warrior, the Undead returned to dust.

The female warrior came towards you, her battle over.



- An old tale says that when five of the Undead gather, a door to another world will open... And if ten of them gather, a path will be formed. It seems that the rumor is true. The 4th Floor of the Labyrinth is a nest of Undead...

- Are you alright, Miss?



- I was looking all over for you...

- What I do not need is a brother whose approval I must ask anything for...

That nice lady () from the inn is down here having fun, too? Good thing her appearance is brief.



So, B3 is fairly linear in some ways. It consists of random stretches of hallway, rooms, the occasional set of stairs, and doors. Sometimes you can get right to the exit just by following the first hallway around until you hit it. Other times you may have to work your way through smaller offshoots. Supposedly you can always make it to the staircase without going through any doors or stairs, but I can't verify this personally since I like to grab some stuff while I'm down here.

http://blip.tv/file/4641581





His lips curled into a smile.



- My divination will bring you blessings and misfortunes.

Will you request a reading?

Yes
No

Eh, why the hell not.

- Very well. Now, choose one of these piles of cards that have been doused in Moonlight.



- Fate is hidden in the cards. with the Moon's guidance, I shall divine your destiny.

(Lightshow!)

The priest pulled out one card. It was...

- Well well, you are quite a lucky one. This is a Magic Stone Card.

On the card, there was a picture of a Magic Stone shining brightly.

- You will soon gain a Magic Stone. But if you are unattentive, you will lose your chance.

The priest laughed, his eyes becoming like crescent moons.

- Then, I shall wait for the Moonlight to guide you here... At a more opportune moment.



What an eccentric performance.

As you can probably guess, the priest can give you good or bad luck in the fashion implied by his reading. Sadly, I never did find a magic stone on B3 after this reading.

As for the enemies, they have changed colors again. There's a few new ones to worry about as well.



For exampl-OH WHAT THE CRAP?!



Our first (Note, FIRST) dragon enemy, folks! The Gas Dragon!

Dragons have kind of an odd niche in this game. Typically, the bipedal dragons, such as this one, are the lesser kind, whereas the ones on all fours are usually the more powerful variety. That isn't to say that this enemy is weak, however. In a straight fight, it can do very powerful melee attacks, or hit everyone with a breath weapon that can easily do 30 damage to everyone. At this stage in the game, two breath weapons back to back would practically be a wipe for the party.



That isn't to say...



There isn't any way...



To fight back.

Gas Dragons are very slow. So, if you use one or two pairs of party members to execute Stun Attack on it, you have a pretty good chance of stunning it before it can even move. Since a successful stun lasts one or more rounds, it's best to layer them on until you see the "paralysis bolts" coming off of its body at the beginning of the next turn. This has the added benefit of decreasing its defense, giving you an attack boost for either normal moves or Double Slash.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWMh-S7H5yg

Oddly enough, sometimes one dragon can give you two dragon hearts. Dragon hearts are wonderful in making magic stones. They work for a variety of spells, and are especially good for higher level magic. You can also use them for lower level spells, but that's kind of a waste. It's better to save them if you can't use them right away. They can also be used as an item to heal the party.

To the stars, Bowen. To the stars.

While we're on the subject of magic stones, let's take a look at a few new ones courtesy of some dead dragons.







Most of these spells are going to Warren, but Sara can get some good mileage out of that Safeal.

I realized at this point that while I showed off how to make a magic stone, I never did show off what goes on when you separate one for materials. Well, here's a video:

http://blip.tv/file/4641351

I got pretty lucky while I was recording this, actually, as I also got a better material than the original stone contained. Still, where did that samurai's beard come from?

Anyway, going back to monsters.



The usual suspects. They're going to become increasingly common encounters. There's also generic warrior and bishop monsters on this floor.



We're going to start encountering more insects in the upcoming floors. Dragonflies, the green buggers in the back, have ridiculously high evasion and agility and a breath attack that hits everyone in the party for fire damage. Amusingly, however, they're extremely fragile; using Rush in practically any encounter with them will kill them outright. In fact, this is recommended most of the time, since they're annoying if left unchecked.

The boring beetles in front have decent defense, but not much else going for them. They can Rush if there's enough of them, but otherwise they don't do much damage.



Guess what? That's all that's on B3 right now!

Well, except one more cutscene.

http://blip.tv/file/4641564



As a gale blew through, you stopped in your tracks.

The next moment, you felt a wind pass by you intermittently.

Yet it was not the wind.

These were the Ninja Soldiers of duhan, sprinting, flashing past you. They gave no regard to you, and disappeared to the lower levels.

That's right. Duhan has a ninja squad. That nobody ever mentioned or used until now.

...It's a J-RPG.



And with that, we're done with chapter 3! Easy one, huh? See you guys in chapter 4!

Videos:

Gotz Trap? - http://blip.tv/file/4641490

Hell with Helga - http://blip.tv/file/4641562

Imperial Reward - http://blip.tv/file/4641600

Saving Grace - http://blip.tv/file/4641345

A Biyatch and Her Brother - http://blip.tv/file/4641378

Lucky Priest - http://blip.tv/file/4641581

Separating A Magic Stone - http://blip.tv/file/4641351

Ninja Swarm - http://blip.tv/file/4641564

I think I'll go have some ice cream. I've had a hankering since I saw "Kuld Stone."