Part 44: .hack Quarantine - //Update 06 - Rachel's Rescue Service

//Update 06

Welcome to the sidequest roundup everyone!

Today we're tackling one of the four story keywords, going to see about Subaru, and finally doing Rachel's sidequest. We have quite a lot on our plates, so let's not waste any time.



Six new keywords to visit, four of which are story related.













The keywords run the gamut between levels 79 and 85. We're approximately in range of all of those with a little grinding.



This keyword also unlocked. Like I mentioned last time in that giant block of e-mails, it's the keywords to the final dungeon of the game. Because I've cheated in all the virus cores, we could actually go there right now. It would be an incredibly bad idea, but we could!

When I actually cover this dungeon, I'll cover why that would be a bad idea beyond "It's level 90 and we're level 77."



Finally this dungeon on Σ server. I don't know why Quarantine uses Outbreak's server so much.



Our first destination is Ω Splendid Emerald Nobleman. It's 3 levels higher than we are, but that is strictly a non-issue. All the four story fields left on Omega all have the same enemies in them, including a very special enemy.



Wiseman's trees strike again. This thing is the Guardian that Morganna gave Tsukasa in Sign. There are theoretically an infinite number of them in these high level fields, as they can pop out of any monster portal.



The experience they give is alright. It's nothing special.



Oh boy, more of these guys.



It's been a rather long time since we've seen one of these types of enemies. They remain extremely dangerous, as they have that dervish move where they slice their target into ribbons.





Nothing we haven't seen before. They hit hard and have a lot of health. Yawn.



It took me until the second floor of this dungeon to remember why The Guardian was such a special enemy. You WANT to data drain these guys. Unlike literally every other enemy in the game, they actually get stronger when they're data drained.



The Guardian is a level 80 enemy judging by the experience they give. The Bracelet here is a level 99 enemy. They may only have 3000 HP, but they will kill you dead fast.



Of course, the results speak for themselves.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the single best level grinding in the series. Any of the four story fields can give you Guardians to fight. All of those Guardians can become Bracelets. Kill two bracelets and you are going to level up.



Lich Lords aren't the highest level variety of this enemy, but they're close.





I'm pretty sure I data drained this from a Lich Lord.



Wiseman really liked it!









I'm not really sure what that's supposed to be. It hit awful hard, though.









So this is our party as we stand after that field. I'm going to go do some off-camera level grinding.



I think it's in this field - Dreaming Moonlit Gravestone.



Not that it matters. We're going after Guardians and I'm prepared to savestate scum until I get one.



Draining the Guardians gives you some very very nice equipment. Remember that the weapons we can buy in Ω Server Root Town are level 48. This sword for Blackrose is nearly twice that!



I seem to have a large mysterious blank spot in my memory where the post-game stuff is, but I'm fairly certain that this is the best body armor for Twin Blades and Long Arms in the game.



Even the Wavemaster hats are pretty decent!





The stat gains on that Demon Mail are pretty impressive!



Eventually I've data drained enough Guardians that Kite's infection level has gotten dangerously high.



And finally after all of that, I remember to equip the Sun Fang on Blackrose.

Well that was fun! Let's go see if Subaru is gonna show up in that field we saw on the board.



Our heroes are all around level 88 at this point. Kite's gotten almost 200 more HP and has very nearly caught up to Blackrose!



The enemies here were the same chaff we fought in the previous dungeon. They weren't very difficult earlier, and now we have 11 levels on them. They fell like dominoes.

No screenshot of the third floor's map, but it's a straight line north.

Video:



: Hey, I'm Crim, a Long Arm. I'm just passing by. Your look is very unusual. If you're in some kind of trouble, I'll help. ...But sorry, I'm on a business trip again starting tomorrow. I don't think I can help you.

: ......

: It may be none of my business, but if you're waiting for Subaru, it's a waste of your time.

: ......

: She doesn't... No, it's nothing. I'm just talking to myself. Ignore me. I can't help you, but I'm rooting for you. Oh yeah! Here, use this.



: So long, celebrity.

: ......

That's pretty cool, actually. Crim's weapon is really powerful. Also he knows who Kite is!

Pity we couldn't recruit him for our team. I'd gladly replace Blackrose with Crim any day of the week.



His weapon is incredibly powerful.

Speaking of incredibly powerful weapons, we found a set of blades in that Gott Statue chest that finally made me shelve Sora's blades for good.





We don't lose any physical stats and actually gain a fairly significant chunk of attack damage. It sucks losing the Death effect, but a higher crit chance is a good enough trade-off.



Rachel's turn up at bat.



Being a level 80 field, we can expect more of the same enemies. I would complain, but they are there to help boost your levels for the endgame.







: He's being attacked by monsters, correct? All right, we'll go rescue him right -

: (Taro) No, he defeated the monster but he ran out of Resurrect. Can you deliver this to him?



: All right! Let's go to the lowest level of the dungeon.









No points for guessing that Hanako is somehow connected to all of this. She's not our delivery target, however.





Blue serpents, but otherwise unremarkable. Strangely enough, despite having Neptune in their name, they're earth element. You'd think they would be water element.



: Hello I'm Rachel from the Rescue Service.



: (Jiro) Oh, you guys are from the delivery service.

: No! A rescue service!

: Whatever. Anyway, my item list is full. I want you to take the items I don't need to my friend on B3.

: No! Our job is to rescue people! We're not here to deliver items!

: If you don't take the items, I can't continue, so this is legitimate rescuing, right? Here.



: Hey - hey! All of these?!

: A player called Hanako should be on B3, so give it to her. Thanks!

Really Rachel only has herself to blame for this. Every couple weeks she makes a new post on the message boards advertising her courier service, and now when she's not running one she's upset when people associate her with being a courier?

The game mercifully cuts back to B3.



: I'm not a courier!



: (Hanako) This is your fee for the delivery.





: This dungeon is pretty big, so didn't it take you time? Thank you so much. You guys are great!

: We turned into an item delivery service in the end... It wasn't supposed to be this way.

: I think it's all right. She was very happy that we helped.

: Ha ha. That's right! No matter what the job is, if there are clients that are happy, then it's fine!

: Yeah. That's it. :-)

: Let's go back.







The party is looking pretty awesome! Wiseman has very nearly capped out his magic damage stat, Kite has nearly capped his magic evasion stat, and Rachel's stats don't matter because we're done with her for the rest of the game.















We're rolling right along!

NEXT TIME: Moonstone and Marlo's quests.