Part 5: .hack Infection - //Update 05 - Fuck Mia and Elk

//Update 05

Today, we've got a lot on our plate. Not the least of which is learning just why Mia and Elk are so hated. Like last time, we're jumping straight into the action. Last time, we'd just met Mistral and Piros. So before we go off on Piros' fool errand, let's power level Mistral some. There's not much to show from the power leveling trip. Mistral, Kite, and BlackRose all gained a bunch of levels. So here's a few highlights:



Mistral likes Elves. A lot.



Bet you can't guess what sort of dungeon is below this head!



Mimics are the bane of anyone trying to grind levels. They look just like regular treasure chests, except they have arachnid legs. They also cause the confuse status, quite frequently. The bad part is that they're pretty uncommon enemies, so by the time you forget about them, they pop up again. A new version pops up every so often, I believe around every 10 levels there's a new kind of Mimic to fight, and they all confuse you. They are one of the worst enemies to fight in the game.

Enough about mimics and power leveling. The spree finished with Kite and BlackRose around level 7, Mistral at level 6. That should be enough keeping Piros on his toes, so let's see what he wanted us to do.





The field is pretty low level for the group. The monsters are around level 4, so we tear through them pretty easily. Mistral's elemental spells and healing make this trip easier than it already was. Not much point hanging out in a field this weak, so let's wander into the dungeon.



Naturally, Piros is on the bottom floor. Any time someone wants to meet with you in a dungeon, you have to go all the way to the bottom. This is an annoyance that will continue throughout the entire series.







Well, there was the Gott Statue. Still no Piros. He's gotta be around here somewhere.









: He of fair eyes! Bear witness! Arrrgh! You're not gonna beat me! ...ugh! I am quite a new man today. You think... you can defeat me? Reveal your true powers!

: Is he all right? I better help him.

: Stay back! Arrrgh!

Piros is losing a fight against a level 7 enemy. The thing he's fighting is a massive pain in the ass due to its penchant to cast a relatively powerful health regeneration spell. At low levels, everyone's accuracy is pretty shoddy, making the regeneration all the worse.





: Ah - thank you.

: Ha ha ha, no need to thank me. I have a feeling we will yet meet again. Until that day... Farewell! May the stars shine until the end of your journey!





: (What was that...? Oh well, I got his member address, so maybe I'll invite him.)

Well, that's Piros out of the way. I've got a nagging feeling that we've got some mail, so let's see.





Well, that's entirely uncalled-for! Why would someone threaten Kite like that?



: (I won...? Let's go to a shop in town.)

Sweet. I knew my intuition would pay off! Let's get that reward.






: Congratulations! You're the big winner of our contest! Please take your prize.



: The Book of Law is a rare item that upgrades your character. Select the item from the item window and the character's level data will be updated.





Well that's odd. Character data overwrite? That seems like an extremely inefficient way to give Kite a few free levels. Come to think of it, no news or BBS sources mentioned a One Year Power-Up Event.

Anyway, I saw we had some more mail. Let's go see what that's all about.








Δ Boundless Corrupted Fort Walls is added to the word list.

Oh god. The section upcoming is a perfect example of why I hate Mia so much. She wants us to come alone to a field. Keeping in mind what I said earlier, she'll be at the bottom of the dungeon. After the earlier exercise with Piros, Kite is now level 10. Being level 20 wouldn't be overkill enough. Oh well, no point complaining about it. Let's get going.





: I'm at the lowest level of the dungeon. You can make it here can't you?

: How do you know about Data Drain?

: Well, it's hard to say.



If Mimics are in the top five most annoying enemies in the series, Menhirs are the number one. One by itself isn't too bad, but get more than two and they will indefinitely reincarnate themselves and anything else you fight at the same time. The only way to stop the cycle is to data drain them into oblivion. Grand, huh?



: This area is currently unstable and not functioning properly due to corrupted data configurations. Please return to the field immediately and Gate Out to the town.

: (I can't go back. Let's go further into the dungeon!)



This is Kite for the remainder of the update. He doesn't gain any further levels, just the XP numbers increase a bit.

: So, what do you think? Do you think this area is really corrupted? The truth is, for something to be born, it must break. The same applies to humans. Do you understand what I mean? You came here to find the secret of the bracelet, but you don't quite trust me. The world does not consist only of 1s and 0s. It allows the existence of areas between Yes and No. Humans are interesting, aren't they?

"For something to be born, it must break." It sounds like Mia is referencing apoptosis, the process by which old cells die for new ones to be created. That's a really dumbed down version of the process, I know.















You now have Virus Core M!

That fight was a pain in the ass. To not die instantly, I had to use potions - a lot of them. Probably about twenty of them.



: What!? What do you mean by that!

: Are you angry? I just wanted to know the extent of your power. If you were too weak, there would be no point in teaching you how to hack the gates.

: Hack gates?

: You just drained a virus core. That talent comes in handy if you know what you're doing. Virus cores are the key to breaking through protective barriers. Of course, virus cores are useless to those who don't have the bracelet. I'll show you how to hack the gates. Come to the Chaos Gate. I enjoyed watching the Data Drain.

This is exactly why I hate Mia. She wanted us to fight a data bug alone, in a corrupted field, with nobody but her and Elk knowing where we were. The worst part is still yet to come, too!





: Enter the keyword for a Protected Area. It should open the menu to hack the gate. You do know the keywords for a Protected Area. It was posted on the Board. The keywords are Δ Closed Oblivious Twin Hills.









: See? You need virus cores to hack the gates. Check the gauge to see the type and number of virus cores you need to hack the gate. If you have all the necessary virus cores, you can fill the gauge and hack the gate. After hacking the gate, the virus cores you had will be gone. Once you've hacked a gate, that area will be open to anyone. Do you understand?

Video:





















So here we are. Kite is level 10, Mia is level 5, and Elk is level 3. I'm gonna wish I had leveled them up more, but I just didn't want to deal with them longer than I had to.



: If you Data Drain those Bugs you can get virus cores from them. There has to be a reason why you have that bracelet. You will go there to find out the reason, right?

: The reason why I have this bracelet?







Thanks to screenshot LP magic, the fight was instant. I had to data drain the monster twice. Once to erase the data bug status and once to erase the HP regeneration buff it had. The buff was healing for more than the amount of damage the three of them could deal together. The turtle thing was also dealing a shit load of damage. I had to use another thirty healing potions to keep the party from a total wipe.

: This bracelet actually belongs to my friend.



: I don't care what happened to you in the past. But I am interested in what you are going to do with the bracelet in the future. Well that's about it. If there's anything I can do to help you, I'll try my best.

: Thanks.

: There's no need to thank me. I'm just doing what I want to do.

: Hey, Mia... ......



I'm done in the game for now. Fuck Mia and Elk. Let's see if there's anything new on the forums.





RE: Me too
Author: Kilo

I was able to go! I guess they're done.


Jonue the Gobbler, one of the Four Gob Kings will take you on gob!!



RE: Spiral Edge
Author: Sister Ken

Spiral Edge is at: Δ Raging Passionate Melody. But the monster there is pretty strong!
---------------------------
Thank you very much!
Author: Natsume

Thank you very much! I'm going to head over there now! Wish me luck!





RE: RE: Impressions
Author: Huey

That's a lie! A TOTAL LIE!! It's a defective product! The graphics flicker. The misrecognition rate being 0 or whatever is false advertising. You're going to have a seizure if you use it on a 3D field. Do you work for 'em or something? Just die!







Area Level Info
Author: Korm

Part A: Boundless Difficulty 2.

This is also for beginners.





Virus cores are virus data extracted by performing Data Drain on monsters infected with a virus. Most monsters in "The World" are already infected, and are currently in the incubation period. So you can drain Virus Cores from not only the Data Bug which has rewritten data by the virus, but also from normal monsters as well. I will state the known Virus Cores and the monsters to obtain them from.

Δ Server and Θ Server.

Small-size Monsters: Virus Core A
Mid-size Monsters: Virus Core B
Large-size Monsters: Virus Core C
(there are exceptions)

This is only when you drain normal monsters. The probability of obtaining a Virus Core is not 100%, but when your spread of viral infection is low, you will have a higher chance of getting them.

So, you can see just why I hate Mia and Elk so much. Bad times are past, now. Fun stuff is ahead! Next time: Θ server unlocks. Adventure, excitement, Spiral Edge, Grunties, and more!