Party Split

I probably shouldn't have played tonight, but I wanted to open up the map. I'm really bad at Smash, by the way.

The events at Clik have docked all the ships at Herlie. After Rena saved a man named Yul from the local gangster, Zand, the party went to Celine's hometown of Mars. The streets are empty, and the few adults tell us something terrible happened. All the town's children have been abducted. We head into the Elder's house to see him, Heraldic Master, Celine's parents, and a man with blue hair.

Egert and Laub fill us in that a group of bandits kidnapped the kids. We know this because the Master, who was training in the sacred Heraldry Forest, was snuck up on by a bandit. The bandit told him they've taken the children and are demanding a ransom. For half a million fol and a sacred book, they'll return them. The people in this room have a plan, but they're unsure if to enact it for the sake of the kids. And this brings us to the blue haired man. He's a world renowned swordsman who was traveling through town. Rena knows him because he's the guy aunt Rachel told us about: Dias Flak. Dias has agreed to save the kids as a warmup to the Lacour Tournament of Arms, but Celine seems uncertain of him. Rena vouches for him, which calms her down, but she's already done damage. Dias doesn't want to work anymore. He leaves, but Rena tries to fix the divide. By appealing to Dias' little sister complex, she does so. His "other little sister" tells him that Cecille thanks him too. As Rena leaves the room, Dias tells the aether that "Heaven is too far away. I didn't hear anything."

Sadly, Claude doesn't want to work with him. If Dias is so good, why do we need to fight together? I'm glad the lives of children are set pieces to all this. I sense that someone has a Swordpoleon Complex! Out of anger, Rena leaves the party and plans to accompany Dias in the morning before anyone wakes up.

The entirety of the Heraldry Forest is a side scrolling dungeon, which I think is kinda neat. Battles are the same, so it changes nothing. The gist is several groups of bandits walk up to Dias and Rena. Dias insults them, they attack us, and Dias murders them. Keep Rena out of the way and enjoy the free exp. Dias is unlikely to be killed, so just let your level thirty five sword master do his thing. Rena tries to make Dias a better person, but her words fall on deaf ears. The hardest part of this dungeon is keeping Rena alive in the random battles. Groups of sexy wizards are terrifying.

Eventually, a child who escaped from the bandits comes up to us. Her name is Cecille, and Dias thinks for a moment. Behind her is the bandit house. It's unguarded, which confuses Dias. Why leave the target open? Is this a red herring? As he asks that, a knight enters the clearing. Azamgil tells us the real plan was to draw away the mages from Mars and loot the whole town. The kids were only an added bonus for the slave traders. That was the plan the boss came up with, but this guy is not the boss. One of the hardest fights in the game begins regardless.

Ama is flanked by four shield guys. These four can only be harmed from the back, which AI controlled Dias sucks at. In hindsight, maybe the player should control him? Instead, I spammed Ray with Rena to keep everyone occupied. Once I ran low on MP, I ran around to keep more off Dias and used berries to heal him. He can and will, be harmed in this fight. I have memories of dying here, so I'm glad to be past this. Afterwards, unequip Dias because he won't need gear. We get the key, so free the kids and return to town. En route, we see Claude and Celine standing over the monstrous body of the Master. Dias, in his own way, compliments Claude's sword work and leaves.

We cut to Rena curing Eglan, who was harmed while we were away. She leaves the Jules family and hangs out with Claude. They talk about Dias again and what he might be doing. Claude misunderstands Dias and Rena's relationship, and she hurriedly changes the subject to the Sorcery Globe. They come together and leave Mars. A voice yells at them to wait, and Celine comes after us. The heroes need their banquet!

We speak to Eglan, and he tells us his thoughts about the Globe. It's a ball of demon energy. He wishes we wouldn't go after it, but Celine tells him, "too bad." In the morning, they escort us to the exit. As we leave, Eglan tells us to visit Linga. There might be someone who can decipher those writings. So head to Hurley and take the ship to Hilton. And here's where I messed up. I went to Linga and saw a teenager chase after a mechanical blue egg Claude called a radio controlled car. I came here because I thought the Skill Shop sold Sensibility 2. Instead, Hilton sells it. I've been looking for the skill Perseverance for the last five hours. That lowers the amount of skill points needed to raise all other skills a level. Combine that with a cheap Kitchen Knife, and your strength stat will skyrocket. Rena's attack is nearly 300, fifty over Claude. I am now ready to dig into item creation...

...tomorrow!

Actually, no. I want to raise my stats first. Also, Hilton had an actual, engine powered bulldozer in the port. How does a society based on medieval Earth have a bulldozer?

Also, there's a scene at the hotel where Rena witnesses Claude calling out to the stars.