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Update 19: Haunt/Reality



...And, furthermore, how is it that we're over five months into our exploration, and yet you can't even concoct a simple Resurrection Herb?
I can tell you it's not from lack of trying. At least it's resulted in improvements to my poison compounds, unlike a certain someone who's barely progressed in his studies.
Me? Neglecting my studies?! Never!
Oh, shut up. If you were actually trying, you'd be able to... I dunno, make rocks fall from the ceiling or something. Instead, all you've done is sit on your ass while the rest of us get better.
Hrmph. At least I was the one responsible for the Hippogriff's death.
No. You weren't. Trust me. That thing had a lot more cuts and stabs than it did mana residue.
...And this, dear Raven, is an example of what not to do.
I'm kind of scared to tell them it's time to get going...




So I reskilled Iseria. A lot.



A proper queen knows when to respec.



Chain Burst and Chain Boost needed three points each to unlock the second tier Chain stuff, so I did that. I also shifted around the basic allocations--5 points into Chain Fire, and 2 into Chain Freeze/Shock.





And then I put 9 points into Chain Killer because Chain Killer owns and is great when you have multiple disable options on hand. After that, I put two points into Chain Plus, since Chain Plus is a pretty ridiculously good buff.





Raven has four points into Scythe of Cruel Poison, and one point into Great Scythe of Cold Ash.





I leveled up Kaelin a little. From this, he finally unlocked Incantation: Multistrike Form.





For Mio's build, I lumped 5 points into Consoling the Dead, which heals all party members with buffs for 12% of their max HP when they act. It's a pretty decent source of healing since my only other sources of healing are Magda and consumables.





After that, two points into Purifying Flame and Bunrei, to unlock Affection, which heals any party members with buffs when they take damage. At level 2, it restores 12 + 2% max HP.





Lastly, Magda puts a bunch of points into Smoke Boost, 3 points into Antibody to unlock Paralyze/Bungling Smoke, and then 3 final points into Paralyze Smoke.

With that out of the way, let's take care of Stop the invading monsters!. The dialogue is thoroughly unimportant, so let's just skip to each battle.





OH GOD NEXT PLEASE




Waaaagh, Lanzon's ghosts followed us!
...No, I doubt these are those ghosts. They seem smarter.
And how can you tell that, exactly?
They're not talking.



Ghost

HP: 300
STR: 51
INT: 51
VIT: 36
WIS: 36
AGI: 69
LUC: 56

Skills:




Drops:




Damage Resistances:
50% 50% 50%
50% 50% 50%

Disable Resistances:
100% 100% 100% 100% 150% 50% 50%
100% 100%
100% 100% 100%



Hey, look, one of the most irritating 3rd Stratum enemies. Notice how they can mirror any damage they take back to random party members. Notice how they have 300 HP. Notice how only one of our party members is above even half of that.



Poison them.





(Chain Killer.)


Anomalies like these require a different tactic...
...English, please?




(Haunt.)


Press on, my friends. I can take it.


...Okay, um, you've poisoned some weird things, but--
No questions. Only acceptance.


Yeah, that.





Uh-oh.





Pictured: why I hate Ghosts.



Unnatural abominations.
Does that apply to Lanzon's ghosts, too?
Even moreso.





Obtained 3 Pure White Sacks.






A quick trip back to town to heal, and we're ready to take care of the last stop.





And it's something we've already seen.





And then we fight two more.





And that takes care of that.










Looks like you safely completed that monster extermination. Thank goodness. Thanks to you, we've kept casualties to a minimum. Excellent work, everyone. I suppose I'd better give you your reward. Thank you.




Obtained Drowsy Bow!



Hey look a bow that inflicts sleep with normal attacks 20% base chance these things still fucking suck let's move on.



Why do these exist









Mio had a level up from something else, so I put it in Affection.






Now that I have a spot open in my quest log, let's take care of Request from the Council I.


Oh, good, you're here. You took our request, correct? Thank you. There's something we'd like you to tell us. Do you remember when we had you go looking for the pieces of the legendary armor?
Vividly.
At the time, do you recall running across any stone slate with something written on it? There should have been something written about the legendary knight on it. What we want to know is the location of that stone slate. Does any of that sound familiar?
Surely you jest. The guards couldn't handle such a simple request?
Oh, what, does your highly-touted intelligence not include a good memory? Do you really not remember something that happened, at most, a week ago?
I most certainly do remember every detail of that insignificant endeavor.
Truly? Then where is it? Could you point it out on this map?




It's where we found the Antique Armor.


Right here.
I see...so that's where it is... Hold on, I'll send some men to check the area.


You just sent a bunch of guards to their deaths at the hands of those sword skeletons, didn't you?
I'm not going to dignify that with a response.
You two...


They say they found something there that matches the description of the slate! Thank you! We're in your debt!
...Ah...
Hmph. You're...welcome, I suppose.
We can never thank you enough. Now I'll be able to visit it someday.
Wait, visit it? As in, you wanna have to walk past those skeletons to read a slate?
...D-did I say that out loud?!
Um, yes. Pretty loudly, too.
...Well, alright, I suppose the cat's out of the bag. Can you keep this a secret for me? The truth is, I'd like to visit the legendary knight's grave someday. It's not... entirely unrelated to government work, but it's mostly for myself; I admire his bravery, and the ability to give his life to save others. So, I'd like to visit his grave in person, and offer up my own prayers. That's why I asked you to tell me the location of that slate. But, and I can't stress this enough, this conversation never happened. Tell no one.
On my honor, no word of this will leak.
Now, if we keep talking any longer, who knows what foibles of mine might be let slip, so let's just end our conversation now, I can't have you thinking of me like--
Um.
N-nevermind. Thank you for completing the request, you can collect your reward at the bar.
...You know, Remus is kinda cute.
He's certainly less wound up than my sisters and I were at that age.



...And who didn't believe my recall abilities were sufficient to--
SHUT UP. I get it, your skills aren't entirely self-aggrandized, just mostly. Quit rubbing it in my face.
...Hm.






I hear you completed the request. Good work. ...I take it you still can't share any of the details?
For a few reasons, yeah.
Oh well, that's what happens when you work with the Council. But still, having the Council ask for you by name is pretty amazing, isn't it? Doesn't it feel like you're moving up in the world?
It feels like we've tripped a flag, kinda.
*chuckle* Well, here's your reward. I'll let you know when I need something else.




Obtained 7000 en.









Level 5 Multistrike means that each hit now deals 60% of the original damage, instead of 50%. However, the TP cost is now 20, up from 9.





Magda puts a point in Bungling Smoke because I really, really want Smoke Bomb. Bungling Smoke at level 1 is really bad, by the way--27% base panic infliction chance, 1.16x panic infliction increase debuff.






A random encounter while I try to finish up the mining quest gave Raven a level.





It goes into Great Scythe of Cold Ash.





And then another random encounter after that mining point failed to give me the rare material gives Iseria a level.





Still building up Chain Plus. For the record, at level 3, it increases Chain hit damage by 31%, and the Chain base chance by 51% for 4 turns.





Oh thank god.




Girl: Oh! It's the explorers! So how did it go? Did you get the ore?
Did we ever... It took a while, but here.
Girl: Wow! You really brought it back! Explorers are so cool! Let me touch it! Oh, oh, and I need to sketch it too please! It'll be quick!


...I suppose sketching makes sense, but touching?
I guess she treats ore like my friends and I treat cute voice actors...
V-voice...actors?
Yeah, the guys that give characters voices! They're the closest thing to the character being in real-life!
Excuse me while I...order several shots.
Wait, why?
To drown my sympathy for those poor souls...


Girl: Okay, observation: check! Sketch: check! And here are your 3 ores back. I still can't believe you got all 3! It's like a dream come true! Don't tell me you went out of your way to collect all these just for me?
Well, it was kinda part of the job...
Girl: Thank you so much! I'm definitely gonna be an explorer too someday!
Give that a long, long think-over before you commit to it. Trust me.
Girl: And I'll be counting on you guys then too! Tee hee hee! I left your stuff with the nice lady at the bar, so you can ask her for it! See ya later!
...She didn't listen to that at all, did she?
You're quite lucid for someone that just downed that much liquor.
I may not be much good for punching or swinging a weapon, but I'm no lightweight when it comes to alcohol.








Good work. Sounds like you completed the request safe and sound. I wonder if that girl's going to become an explorer someday?
Like I just said, very loudly: she'd better think it over.
*chuckle* In which case, you might even be her mentors? You'd better work hard if you don't want to be surpassed by the next generation.
Exactly three members of our guild are over 30 years old. I think we still qualify as "the next generation" right now.
Well, here's your reward. Keep up the good work.




Obtained 4 Somas.



Gimme gimme gimme.









Here's a thing I unlocked with the last mining material.



Wisdom Orb (+60 TP) is made from 1 Pyrolighter (3rd Stratum Mine 3). Costs 6000 en, sells for 2400 en.




These accursed skeletons have the gall to think they're a match for us... Watch, as I put them in their place!
Of all the random, nonsensical... Ugh.





Do you feel like fighting a skeleton? Because I feel like fighting a skeleton.



I feel like being a skeleton. There's a skeleton inside you right now.




Heretic Sword-Corpse

HP: 6037
STR: 81
INT: 49
VIT: 65
WIS: 60
AGI: 52
LUC: 62

Skills:




Drops:




Damage Resistances:
100% 100% 100%
125% 100% 125%

Disable Resistances:
50% 50% 75% 25% 0% 25% 50%
10% 50%
50% 25% 25%



So here's the Heretic Sword-Corpse's thing: it blinds your party with Heretical Blade, and then kills you with Trample Cut while your evasion is killed. Got it? Good.





Unless otherwise noted, assume Iseria starts FOE/boss fights with Chain Plus now.





Raven casts Feeble Miasma, not to make Magda's job easier (she far outspeeds him with Smoke Boost), but to make Kaelin's job easier.





I look forward to the day that Kaelin has enough TP that I can level up High-Speed Incantation.





Magda casts Poison Smoke because a) it's her highest-level Smoke skill, and b) the poison damage is pretty significant.





(Trample Cut.)


Yeek!




...Y'know, upon reflection, maybe I should've waited until Iseria was using Chain Killer to use Poison Smoke, because I just missed out on some nice damage.





And here's how much Poison Smoke ticks for right now.





Iseria uses Chain Freeze because Raven's gonna use Great Scythe of Cold Ash.





While Kaelin uses Windstorm to hopefully bind the skeleton's arms. For the record, if a multi-hit skill attempts to inflict a disable, each hit is one roll for that disable--a 6-hit Windstorm means that Kaelin essentially gets 6 attempts at binding the thing's arms.





Mio preps Prayer: Cold Rain so I can amplify ice damage later.





And Magda uses Smoke Rot to make the skeleton extra-susceptible to elemental damage.





Goddammit.



OoooooOOOH! How do you do the ice stuff?!
M-magic jars.


Great Scythe of Cold Ash hurts like absolute hell when a target has an ailment.





Even with a level 2 Chain, Iseria is no slouch.





Good. I really want the skeleton to keep using Trample Cut.





Mio uses Aegis Shield in case my luck runs out on this turn, and also uses Oracle: Dance to amplify ice damage.





Elemental resistance fuckery is one of my favorite things in EO.






Iseria is a serious powerhouse when the team is built with her in mind.



M-Mio... It didn't hit me... Please, I can't breathe...
But what else can I do for a skill called Affection?


Affection still procs even if an attack was blocked.





We're really chewing through this thing's HP, aren't we?





There we go, that's what I wanted to see.

Except for the lack of arm binds.



R-rest in...pieces.
Oh, come now, I thought you'd realized that act is futile by this point.








Oh, right, yeah, we had that quest to catalogue skeleton enemies, didn't we?




Woman: Oh, it's you all. Good work. Have you gotten the skeletons of the 11th floor registered yet?
Let's see, these dreadfully boring undead should be...here, here, and here.
Woman: My! These are certainly what I asked for! I can't wait to show them to my daughter! I'm sure she'll behave herself if she knows these are out there!




Woman: I'm back! *chuckle* Just one picture was enough to make her face go pale! After the second, she even screamed! And the third made her dive right into her bed!
...Jeez.
Woman: I almost felt sorry for her, but I'm sure she'll behave herself after this. I left your reward with Melina, so you can pick it up later. You have my sincere gratitude for this. Now if you'll excuse me.








I see you've completed the request. Thank you. So I guess even hellions who show no fear in front of their parents can be scared by the unknown. Do any of you remember anything like that from your own childhoods?
Not necessarily just in childhood, but my expeditions have given my parents headaches at times.
What about you, Melina?
Me? Well... That's a secret♪ Anyway, here's your reward. Don't be a stranger.


terrifying





Obtained 5 Amritas.



You could probably infer this, but showing more skeleton enemies to the woman increases the reward. Doing all three is worth it for 5 AMRITAS.









Mio had a skill point, so I dropped it in Affection.





Magda, meanwhile, is still working towards Smoke Bomb.

And that'll do it for this update that consisted of tying up some loose ends. Next time: the actual floor.