To Elencia!

We still need a pass to reach the new world, and this old guy who lives alone is willing to give us his…on one condition.

We need to remove the monsters that have moved into his mines. They’re loud and annoying, so only the sword can cull them. The Leck Mines are, like the other dungeons so far, a maze of caves and mobs. Much of our battles are against the same guys in Sult, but there’s a new thing to kill down here: orcs. They’re big and beefy but not that strong. It may take three attacks to fell then, but there’s no need to alter your strategy. There’s also spyders down here, but they’re the usual affair. I don’t think they poison you.

I learned how the compass works down here. To fully explore, go in the opposite direction of the yellow pointer. It always tells you where to go, which every adventurer knows is the wrong way! There’s a lot of gold to be found, as well as some armor and a hammer.

In the depths of the mine is the scourge of Java: An Orc Chieftain. He’s surrounded by even more gold we can loot before we begin our attack, which I did, but I don’t think it matters. For the second boss battle in the game, our target is accompanied by two regular orcs. So use six attacks to finish the lessers before unleashing your special attacks. OC easily withstands two rounds of moves, but his DPS and speed can’t keep up. I knocked him out of one of his attacks, which helped us quite a bit. I really dig this mechanic.

After we defeat the chieftain, the mines begin to collapse, somehow. Grab the bread sitting there and leave. Java is waiting for us, and he leads the way out for us. We all get in the nearby mine cart and take the easy way out. It’s a lengthy cutscene that only kinda cool. Toward the end, we need to jump the tracks to another cart. It’s all automated, though, so enjoy the show. Safety outside, Java gives us a warning to always have an exit strategy. The two kids think that means they failed, but Java gladly hands over the pass! Sue complains that it stinks, and Java tells us it's covered in his blood, sweat, tears, soul, and other things. You’re correct to be grossed out. But we have to get back home! Before we leave, Java tells Justin that he may have to leave Sue behind. "The life of an adventurer is a lonely one."

On the train ride back to Parm, Justin was silent in contemplation. Sue is as excited as she can be. When they leave the station, she keeps remains ebullient, but Justin is still concerned. He’s not one to hide his feelings, so he quickly tells her that she’s staying behind. As you’d expect, Sue is not happy. She runs away crying, returning to call Justice a bad name and hit him. Our hero returns home, hoping to keep his plans quiet from his mother. Outside the cafe is Gantz, wondering why Sue was mad. Justin asks his rival to take care of Sue.

That night, the two …whatever Justin’s last name is… have a nice, quiet dinner. Lilly remarks that it’s nice to be alone but does miss Sue. Justin asks about old family pictures, and Lilly starts to show some concern. She suggests her son sleep next to her tonight, just like they did when he was little. He turns it down, of course, and the two go to bed. Lilly’s profile picture is that of worry.

Waking up early, Justin gathers his things and heads to the port. All the houses are closed, but we can get closure to a few things. The guard at the port tells us that once we enter the ship’s waiting area, we can’t leave. While there, we can talk to everyone to learn tidbits about the Parmians and why they’re heading for the New World. There’s a lot of people here, and it takes forever to do. If you’re speedrunning, just head for the boat. There’s a procession of rich people getting on first. Before Justin does, someone tells him something's falling out of his pocket. When he sees what it is, he's shocked to find a letter from his mom. It’s to be handed to the leader of the Adventurer’s Guild, Mr. Gauss, but we can read it. It’s a note tellingly the recipient about Justin, filled with his flaws. You can tell it's written by a loving mother, though. She even scolds us for reading it.

We can explore the ship and talk to everyone again, but it doesn’t last long. A few people tell us about a living ribbon on a little girl… Head toward the deck again, and we’ll see Puffy flying outside. When we get there, Sue is in a barrel. It’s customary to throw stowaways into the ocean, but Justin convinces the captain not to because she’s a child. The captain then tells us he’ll spare her if they become sailors. This means we spend the next two days swabbing the deck. It’s a mini-game where we need to keep our meter high, but not too high, or else we'll crash. Sue does one line while Justin does the rest. My best time is 28:08. At the end of the second day, we’ll see someone setting up a spotlight. An adventurer is exploring the nearby islands, and we're to pick them up. We then see a scene of two lights flashing. That night the novice sailors wonder what this person looks like, each with their wild guesses.

In the morning, Justin is slow to wake up, having spent all night wondering. When Sue reminds him they’re here, he hops up to the deck. We see several treasures on board, surrounded by several sailors. And in the middle is a green haired woman! The captain introduces us to Feena, the best adventurer in the New World. She regals us of her excursion on the islands before the captain stops her, suggesting the two of them get a drink. The next day, we find Feena waiting for us. She cleaned the deck for us since we kept her waiting so long. The three bond a little, and Feena warns Justin about the dangers of his path. He is unphased, though. While they speak, dark clouds form in the sky, and Feena gets a bad vibe. She runs off to tell the captain but tells us to head to our quarters. I ignore her and speak to the captain, which angers Feena. She really doesn’t think much of us. Suddenly, things take a turn for the worst, and she returns to the deck. We follow.

While there, we see everyone’s fears take shape. The Viking ship from that carnival ride appears in the ocean, and everyone calls it the ghost ship. Feena doesn’t believe in ghosts and wants to see what’s up, but everyone’s too afraid to follow her. But not Justin! Too bad she hates us. After using us to mock the sailors, Justin eventually convinces her to lets us join her. They climb the crane, reach the ghost ship, and find a way in. Justin accidentally cops a feel off Feena in the dark. She hates us even more, but we'll explore the fall out of sexual assault (and the ghost ship)…

Tomorrow!

PS: I hate item inventories management!
PPS: I really hate typing on a phone.