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S01E24: The Neck-Romancer and The Lone Sisters Islands
It's time. Time for Balthus Cave. The hardest donjon.
We immediately encounter the nastiest enemy here. No, not the Green Demons (though they do double hit, and hard).
Thaumaturgists... I will explain why they're so nasty, shortly. But at least they have less than 1k HP and not very high defense. Same with the Green Demons, actually.
Green Demons are worth 200XP and 34GP, and have a 10% chance of dropping a Tartarus Sickle.
Thaumaturgists are worth 151XP and 250GP and have a 15% chance of dropping a Mandragon Hat.
This is the very next fight I get mere steps later and uh...
I kill the 'BlossBomber' and one of the Thaumaturgists on turn one, but... the other survives. And then he stunlocks us with Nympha's Para. It casts it over and over. I only just win when Sarah doesn't get numbed for a while and crits him.
quote:
Thaumaturgist (rare, magician class)
The "Thaumaturgist" is a class dedicated to spells of damages, healing and alteration. Though they are very uncommon in the Southern and Western Deports, they can be encountered in places where dark magic is used.
Nasty and intelligent, the Thaumaturgists can easily defeat a whole party using the right spells. Their organization is mainly centered around Metrolia, but novice Thaumaturgists often venture in SankT Leona or Adretana to gain experience and knowledge.
Seriously, look at that. One more cast would have got her. But also look at everyone's MP. Nympha's Para drains MP too! So I reload from this.
I change up Sarah's gear a bit. Bye bye Evil Necromancer Laser Scissors!
I only saw one of these hydra and it double hit once before it died. Worth 178XP.
This switch opens the gate at the end of this long entry tunnel. Which is only one more screen north of the switch.
A large cavern with treasures awaits us! Also new random encounters. Thankfully, Thaumaturgists only occur in that first tunnel, and most of the rest of the random encounters are easier. I suspect Thamaturgists exist solely to dissaude you from entering Balthus too early.
4-feet Nightmares. Sounds like my little sister. Neither of these guys seem interesting. The Nightmares double hit, didn't see a single move from the tortoise, ever.
4-feet Nightmares are worth 97XP and 162GP and have a 2% chance of dropping O Donnell Skull
Cyclopean Tortoise are worth 105XP, 62GP and have an 11% chance of dropping an Emerald.
We head up to the NW of the large cavern to transition to a new area.
Just a storage area we start looting.
I had my own encounter with a giant spider and a horde of little (baby) spiders on Monday when I picked up my shoes to go to art class.
8 Razors are worth 117XP and 12GP.
Ah, fuck, it's WarMech!
But not really. This thing is a chump. It 'shots' for decent damage and can take a bit of a pounding since its HP and defense is high (seems extremely weak to Laser though!) but that's all I saw... besides from the fact that it can 'pounce' which hits everyone HARD but as usual for pounce, removes it from the battle, granting us victory. You may think this kind of sci-fi enemy is out of nowhere but... Do remember what I told you. About one of Indy's favourite games being Might and Magic 6.
Hyper Tron is worth 300XP and 150GP.
We continue looting.
This battle is weird. There's three of them perfectly aligned atop one another. These guys have very high defenses, even Random only does 500 damage on a crit. But they seem to only have like 400hp or something. Didn't do much else.
Bio-Cutters are worth 90XP and 4GP each.
There's an identical gate and note on the other side of this room.
And we pull a switch that will let us progress...
fethers
Well. The War Cyclop can tank a lot of punishment but tnot much else. The Arcadion has high defense, lowish HP and can debuff and cast some nasty spells. But all in all, nothing special.
War Cyclop is worth 108XP and 88XP.
Arcadion is worth 165XP and 70GP, and has a 5% chance of dropping an Amethyst.
Collect some loot...
And now we backtrack to the large cavern.
Cute render. This thing has a ton of HP and its firebreath wrecks Sarah, but that's all it did for me!
521XP and 651GP.
There's another area transition on the NE side of the large cavern. There's a path down the middle too, but we ignore it for now.
We progress through a long winding cave with lots of mushrooms, boulders and pools of water.
I think you can buy these at SankT Leona for a high price, but now that Luci's mind is so high that equipping a subpar accessory (Mind-wise) doesn't matter, it's a good fit on her.
Hahahaahaahahaah
Anyway these thigns are annoying because they take a bunch of turns to go down. But that's about it. I run into them annoyingly often here and for a while the RNG decides I'll encounter them 6 times in a row, every few steps.
They're worth 183XP, and have a 1% to drop a Jewel of the Ices. Which I actually got on my second fight with one. That's just how it goes sometimes, when it's not even something you badly want.
I have to solve an easy rock puzzle to reach the second switch. Now I backtrack back to the large cavern.
Time for the Middle Way, Rhue.
This thing yells DIE at us, using the same faceset the fire elementals did.
HEY! Aren't you like one dungeon late????
Seriously.
I mean, come on.
Anyway, this is a simple boss. It has high defense, very high HP... But he can't do shit to us really. R.I.P. He drops a guaranteed Flare Scroll and is worth 1400XP and 5GP.
We move on and go up and down stairways as I loot the joint of minor treasures. Only a Sky Diamond and a Bromium really register.
Oh yeah, and this asshole is a frequent encounter in this last part of the cave. It's like a random encounter boss. It has at least 6k HP and can even hit Random for a couple hundred damage.
It take way too long to fight and I seem to have really bad luck with running from it, if it is even possible to run.
Worth 1120XP and 2900GP.
quote:
Drak' O Brugge (extremely rare, ultimate evolution of mage dragon lords)
Books say this creature is one hundred long, and they may not be that wrong.
Drak' O Brugge are fast and dangerous dragons, wielding great large spells and able to bite violently. It is almost sure they can talk, understand more than one language, and use nasty tricks to reach their goals. Drak' O Brugge are very sensitive to human flesh.
We've got a lot of books stored thanks to Lazandra. I'll probably use them at the end of the game, after we take a last look at the score, since the books (and stat raising items) apparently count!
This thing is also here. FTP as in the protocol??? What else could it mean?
241XP and 80GP.
Necromancers even get their own god. Is he like the god of death then? Do he and Yveen get along? I think this is one of the settings where necromancy is evil by default so probably not.
Someone has like a camp here.
And a torch that fully restores us, nice.
In the far west of this extremely large cavern is...
Sarah says this is a REALLY HUGE dog.
Despite having shitloads of HP, he's easier than alot of the random encounters, if you buff/debuff.
1050XP.
quote:
Xerberus (unique, hound of the outer world)
Like the Sanguine Phoenix, Xerberus comes from the outer world. A legend once said the hound had been created and tamed by its creator, but books confirmed this statement appeared to be wrong.
Xerberus was the Pet of many Gods, from Magdalena to O'Org the God of Darkness, but vanished from the Gods' Kingdom and was found again in the Deport. None can tell where the hound is now.
We begin to climb the EXTREMELY tall staircase behind him.
I'm no normal human but it still sucked buddy.
Anyway, Luci asks this guy if he isn't human himself and he calls her a fool. Then he notes that we slew Xerberus and the Fire Orb so we're not run-of-the-mill adventurers.
I won't be able to talk to that woman and get loot if we don't kill your dumbass.
Annnnd... Kirai is a non-issue if you just use our basic debuff/buff tactics.
The two chests are locked due to a dark power, even after we kill his ass, but we can go and save that woman.
This is Lisa. She was a Guardian of SankT Leona... three years ago.
He did, however, horribly experiment on and kill plenty of other people. Lisa also says she was actually treated relatively well during her long captivity.
Oh, Wendie... No it would not.
Lisa just wants to rest someplace quiet for a long time.
And then Random makes Wendie give Lisa her dress, since Lisa's like barely covered by rags apparently. Wendie complains about this, of course. Which, I mean, is fair. Maybe this party should be carrying some spare clothes though.
But that's not all that's here.
There's another area hidden behind the waterfall.
Sarah starts freaking out and ranting at this point.
Wendie is a complete freak. Let's explore. I either got extremely lucky here or there's no actual random encounters.
This is meant to be one of the harder bossfights in the game but I might have gotten lucky, plus being level 50 and not level 38 or something is a big help. It's a cinch, with the usual tactics.
We don't get much from it. Kirai's diary is also here.
He writes a little about his experiments and how hard it is to get human meat and that he sends Xerberus to get more people.
Apparently even Kirai doesn't know what the deal with the Blackhole Worm is.
... Is that a desktop computer?
In some 'cells made for animals' we find two kids, let them out, and have them accompany us.
Dead woman with some kind of magical effect upsets the party a bit.
Some sort of beastie is wandering around but does not attack.
A giant ass ring lies around on a mat. It halves MP cost. There may or may not be a downside. We will see.
Lisa tells us Kirai used to say he kept his precious things in this chest and she stole the key one day when he was distracted.
Excuse me!?!?!?
...
Moving on.
Eyes on Luci.
And uh, that's it. We leave.
Lisa still does not wish to go home, so the party offers to let her stay at their HQ. She agrees
And pleasure is important!
Random immediately starts complaining about his own house. It's got six rooms and a basement buddy.
Uh, yeah. Right.
And then if you talk to her a second time...
I spent a while trying to think of a joke about HRT and diamonds and couldn't think of one that was both funny and didn't come off too self-loathing.
... At least Random's excited for it!
Our score is getting up there too. I think only Mithril is above Diamond rank.
I decide to trial the ring on Luci.
And we return to the oasis in the Upper West.
Just some nobody kids? You know? You only became someone of note very recently, Random.
Sarah chimes in to say Random's the best fighter she knows.
Anyway, the guy says he thought it was too dangerous for some kids. Adventurers from Mt. Zulle tried and never returned... Hm. Well, technically Random and Sarah are both from Mt. Zulle too! Is that like the adventurer starting town or something?
Luci brings up the dragon Not-Bosses:
Well, that explains everything.
USELESS reward even before we hit level 50. Let's move on.
The Rillian docks!
Let's go, guy! He says hardly anyone even knows these islands exist anymore.
We're here! No problems encountered on the way! So, these are the Lone Sisters Islands, and as our ferryman mentions, there may be things to interest 'our type.'
Literally one step off the beach and inland I run into one of these. They hit hard, 200 damage to just about anyone, but often waste their turn doing nothing. They also have thousands of HP. It takes a while for us to beat it to death.
951XP and 850GP.
There's ruins and stuff in the centre of the island.
Just a short walk across some shallow water. If you use the fish you can find here, you get a Trout. There's like four of them.
Did this place used to be a holiday resort or something...?
There's also a Tonic Stone in the backroom, but the sideroom and roof have nothing.
Whatever these do I don't know. They run away in the event I do not slay them in one turn.
Worth 386XP and 50GP and can drop a Spider Horn.
Hidden directly behind a tree itself directly behind the abandoned inn...
!!!
Luci speculates that it's a forgotten pirate treasure, and Random agrees, saying the coins are very old.
Also these things appear as random encounters. They say their name ZAPOO ZAPOO when they show up but besides that, are anormal encounter. They have low HP but high defenses. Most of Luci's spells do nothing to them, likewise Sarah's (but her Nymph Para still works fine). Random and Wendie can generally one shot them with melee attacks despite their greatly reduced damage, but what really works, I found, is Wendie's Delta Night.
They're worth 148XP EACH and can come in groups of 8. Also have a 5% chance ot dropping Zapoo Diamonds. Which I do get a few of while here. The Zapoo Diamonds do not get exchanged at Marianne for GP.
They do not have a purpose in -this- game at all.
quote:
Zapoo (no genuine proof of these creatures' existence)
No one is still alive to tell what "Zapoos" exactly are.
The only mention of these "strange little animals, shouting Zapoo Zapoo in a tiny voice, moving in groups and hiding unique gems in narrow caves", was found in a dated book by Casalus, an explorer known for having visited remote islands and tried to draw a general map of the seas.
We fight this thing as we head north of the inn. Nothing special. Thousands of HP again though.
Worth 799XP and 212GP.
Hahaha
Actually, what he means to say is he can't read the sign. It says either 'Acornia or Adolnia' is to the right of here.
Part way through a short trek northward through more shallows, you can head east.
Guh. These things take forever to die. Hardly any defense but they have like 8k HP or some crap and are common random encounters in this small side area I am about to show you.
They also hit kind of hard but you can easily make them irrelevant by buffing and debuffing.
Worth 2040XP and 890GP. 10% chance to drop a Trout.
So the east path takes us to a small island with a couple Moon Fish and...
This shell you can barely see which is an Azura.
These guys also appear here as random encounters. Not as durable as the Shark Butcher but definitely more dangerous. They double hit and both hits do a fair bit of damage, even buffed.
Same old, really.
They are worth 1637XP and 1560GP.
quote:
Ocean Cuttlewhale (rare, tropical areas)
Huge octopus, the cuttlewhale regularly eats whales.
Its weight and height are impressive, 15 meters, 5000 kg, and tens of tentacles.
We backtrack to the shallows and continue north.
Last sister!
Coryool does not want to disturb a sleeping bottle hahaha
Coryool is lazy, he's sympathising with a bottle lying on its bed for a longass time.
Here it is. The big feature of the Lone Sisters Islands.
The Zapoo cave! One of the places that have a large store of encounters for you to grind the 10k Battle's quest at!
After about 7 or so battles of fighting the pack of eight or whatever, the dialogue changes and Sarah says:
Before you fight packs of 5. After like another 7 of those...
You start slaughtering the babies. This is where you're meant to get like 6k battles from. I haven't checked the exact count but I'd swear it's not actually that much based on what happened last time I played.
Anyway, commit genocide on the Not-Pikachu's (they cast P-Bolt a lot!!!!) if you wish.
Zapoo-noo (baby) are worth 19XP and have a 2% chance of dropping an Amethyst.
Near the cave we find some treasure.
That's some old fucking tequila. Would it even still be drinkable?
Also, hidden behind a tree, like the pirate treasure, with no indication it is there is this.
By far Luci's best weapon.
Seriously, look at that. She's nearly better than Wendala now.
Oh yeah, these are also hear. Didn't fight them much cos they're a pain. 578X{ and 255GP.
There's one last enemy I just couldn't find anywhere too. The Lash Mandrill. Oh well. Hopefully it didn't look funny.
Yep!
And we safely return to the Deport.
Well, that's that. We finally got the last two dungeons out of the way. Now there's just a couple sidequests and the remaining tourneys. So the next update will be the end of Laxius Power 1: Random Story.
the end