Update 42: All the World's Fish Kneel Before Their Master (Nameless vs. Oliphant and Dragon Zombie)



Good morning, Kaelin!
Princeling.
Oh, come now, don't be like that! It's a bright and fine day to assist our friends about town with life-or-death battles that will shake the heavens.
I suppose.
Is this about us making fun of you?
No, of course not. Why on earth would I be offended by such low-brow discourse between worms such as yourselves?
I swear I apologized. Why are you still giving me the cold shoulder? We've been through roughly...112% of the Labyrinth together by this point! We're practically brothers!
I am an only child.
Argh, you wound me!
Oh, now don't mind Kaelin. He ain't mad at you, Alexis.
He's not? But he seems so displeased.
That's on account of that it's you he'll be spending so much time with and not his sweetheart.
Slander!
Oh, is that all? Thank goodness, I was worried I'd caused some deep offense.
Yeah, he's an easy one to read once you get used to it.
Lies! This is all lies! I-- I feel no such thing! Yes, you! Princeling! You have caused me a great injustice by...by parting your hair to one side!
Excuse me?
Your hair offends me! Greatly! It is an insult to...a great, ancient Lunarian custom that you've never heard of because you are dull and slow-witted! Harrumph! You are a fool and a charlatan!
That means "I think you're pretty swell too, Alexis. Let's go kick elephant rear with the Guildmaster."
...Do you have a compendium for this?
The party in the image is not the actual Oliphant party.


Nameless. You must've taken the request. Guess I'll get down to business, then. So, everyone knows so you probably know, I'm a fisherman at heart. It's what I live for. Catfish, carp, swordfish, sharks, in the lakes, through the rivers, across the oceans: I've gone every which way hunting down and battling the greatest catches I could find.
I still kinda giggle at the mental image of you hunched over and fishing, honestly.
Not that I've got a perfect track record, I've lost a few times of course, but my rivalry with the beasts of the deep is what gives me motivation in life. Now, in my travels, while I was living near a few specific spots, I kept hearing about a legendary fishing rod. Story goes, this is Therian folklore now, story goes that you gather bits of monsters from all over the continent so you can make the ultimate rod. Turns out, one of those monsters is that Oliphant stomping around on the 8th floor. So, that's what I want: for you to fight alongside me against the Oliphant so I can make the ultimate fishing rod. I'll head out to the 8th floor, so you can tell me how you're feeling there.
A fight to the death with an enormous pachyderm for fishing rod parts, hm?
Still not the weirdest fight you've been in.





There we go, that's better.

The only build of significant interest is Lanzon's. He has everything for the The Gates of Hell combo maxed out--Sacrifice, The Gates of Hell, and Equivalent Exchange.


Ahh, it's been far too long since I last tasted this fresh plateau air!
We can't taste anything, you nimrod.
I can't tell which of you is the bigger idiot: the one saying something factually untrue, or the one that still took it literally.


You arrive before the lair of the Oliphant, which you've undertaken a request to meet the Guildmaster and kill the Oliphant.


Ah, good, you're here. Must mean you're willing to help me, right?
We have the choice here between shaking Edgar's hand and taking him with us as a guest, or going at it on our own. Of course I'm picking the first option.
Correct.
Appreciate it, Nameless. Really do.
His deep voice hinting at a complex mixture of feelings, he takes your hand.
Now let's get going. We've got a battle to fight.
You nod at Edgar's words. All that's left is to open the door and fight the Oliphant.


Edgar's a Gunpowder Dragoon, heavy emphasis on the Gunpowder part. He's not much good as a defensive support, but he has Bombardment Prep level 9, and Buster Cannon level 9.
Dinogator starts reading off a paper titled : 'APD arrest procedure' 1:shoot the guns 2:shoot the guns again 3:throw a Grenade 4:tactical laser sight attachment 5:guy should be dead by now
'Cops in a nut shell...should be called Craps realy.. she quips coolly.
To be honest, I found him pretty useless in this fight since my party kept him stuck in the back row where Buster Cannon is weaker.

This Oliphant's still terrifying no matter how many times I look at it. Looks like a real tenacious little bastard, huh? Well, let's do this. No matter what you do, don't underestimate it!
As he says this, he readies his cannon. As if acting in accord, the Oliphant also roars to proclaim its hostility towards you! It's too late to avoid a clash! Suck in your stomach and abandon all hesitation!



VIDEO: Boss: Oliphant





Alexis is just gonna poke at Oliphant to annoy it for the entire battle.

Iseria applies Chain Plus.

Raven's gonna cycle through debuffs to set up Scythe of Transience.

Chain Blast to open the fight, to make Oliphant considerably less dangerous...

Then a Multistrike Icicle Lance for actual damage.

Sacrifice to buff up The Gates of Hell...

And Bombardment Prep on Edgar.

Head and arm binds. I'll take 'em.

Right on the very end of the trunk!


I...don't get it.
Absolutely no point.
With 0% base accuracy, it's literally impossible for King Press to hit party members without some kind of accuracy buff/evasion debuff.

Okay, A, please just...kindly go into the coffin...
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA


ZA--
Don't.


I moved Alexis to the back row, so Edgar gets more damage out of Buster Cannon.

Speaking of which.

It's time for Iseria to actually hit things.

Since Kaelin has an ice element from Reserve Magic, I have him use Earth Spike, to get an extra debuff on Oliphant.

Lanzon's gonna actually use The Gates of Hell now.

I suppose...hitting the legs...will have to do!


The earth freezes at my command!
...I still don't get what the butterfly's for, by the way.
It's symbolic.
Is it related to your sweetheart per-- Urgk...!
I can manipulate the ethereal, you know.
Kaelin. Please stop choking my dear B.


12 TP for just shy of 4000 damage. I frickin' love Iseria.

And that's against a 75% resistance!

I AM STRONGER THAN I EVER WAS IN LIFE!
Please make her go away right now.
How... How do you put up with these three?!
Patience comes with age, Alexis~


Thank you, Raven.

(Equivalent Exchange.)
MY NEWFOUND STRENGTH, GONE IN AN INSTANT! NOOOOOOOOOOoooooo...
Ah, peace once more.


(Buster Cannon.)
Pretty good damage--although it is worth considering that Edgar needed three turns to set that up, and Buster Cannon and Bombardment Prep are both only level 9.

We're kinda demolishing Oliphant really quickly.

I need a leg bind for the conditional, so I have Lanzon use Chain Blast.

Exactly what I needed.

(Leg Binder.)
Ow.

Defeated Oliphant!


Easy.

I might be slightly overleveled for Oliphant, but whatever.


The enormous body which had endured your most powerful attacks finally shudders and lets out one last roar as it falls to the ground. Even on the ground the beast continues to struggle in vain for a while before finally using up the last of its incredible stamina. You swallow nervously as you approach to confirm that its stopped breathing, before finally letting out your breath in relief. Edgar, who had been been having a similar reaction, begins to put away his cannon.


...Ha. Hahaha, we really did it, Nameless. We really did it...
Mumbling this, Edgar approaches the mammoth and collects a portion of its hair and tusks.
Tusks're for the rod, but this hair'll make excellent fishing line too. What a haul! Thank you, Nameless. You're the first guild in history that's made the Guildmaster owe you a favor. Be proud of that!
...It kinda feels like that was the silliest reason we've had so far for fighting something.
You can't deny that it was a rush, though!
How is that he silliest when we just did Genetta's quest?
Okay yeah no I concede my point. That one's far sillier.


Polydeuces (+219 ATK, +163 MATK, King Press, Gold x6) is made from 1 Mammoth Crown (Oliphant normal). Costs 354000 en, sells for 141600 en.



King Press: Uses the legs. Deals melee STR-based bash damage to all enemies. Has a 50% speed modifier and a base accuracy of 40% at all levels.

King Press gives Cesti some multi-target coverage, so that's nice. You do need, y'know, ailments/leg binds or accuracy buffs/evasion debuffs to use it, but hey, better than nothing.

Warrior Attire (Masurao ultimate armor; +103 DEF, +80 MDEF, +5 all stats) is made from 1 Old Mammoth Trunk (Oliphant conditional). Costs 315000 en, sells for 126000 en.

Survival Vest (Hound ultimate armor; +90 DEF, +106 MDEF, +30 LUC) is made from 1 Mammoth Crown (Oliphant normal). Costs 271000 en, sells for 108400 en.







Good work, everyone. Edgar certainly looked pleased. I hear you fought the Oliphant, so you must be tired, right? Here's your reward, so be sure to get a good night's rest.


Obtained 150000 en.





I switched Kaelin to Ruler of Fire, Ice, and Lightning for the next fight.

Mio's also back to a Heaven's Love Shaman.


With those done, let's move to this.
You arrive at the location indicated by the mystery client. There, you find a lone girl waiting for you, someone you know well.


Yo. It's been a while. I called you here. ...Yes, there's a reason I didn't just talk to you in town. Are you going to listen or not?
As she says this, she takes a step towards you and unfurls a map.
You remember that asshat we turned into mulch here, right? I mean, he was pretty memorable-looking.
She must be talking about the Undead King.
Well, thanks to you, we beat him, and Lily got the Ring of the Immortal back, but...well, here's where it gets messy. Ring's supposed to give its wearer phenomenal cosmic powers, but when we found it, it was just your run of the mill magic ring, really. Lily thinks it's pretty likely that ol' Bonehead used up its powers animating some ridiculous monster.
Hah... Nothing's ever simple, is it?
'Course, as soon as I heard that I came right here to do some recon, and what do you know, it's hiding in the third stratum. So, uh...
Before she continues, she stops to look around, takes a deep breath, and leans closer.
Got a favor to ask. I can't guarantee your safety, but...fight it with me? It's called the Dragon Zombie. No doubt it's the strongest undead thing in the Labyrinth, if it's the ultimate creation of the Ring of the Immortal. Lily's been feeling down because she feels responsible for it for some reason, but... well, we're two people. No way we have a chance in hell of beating it by ourselves. So...can I count on you guys again?
Her words reveal a weakness that's quite unlike her, but for precisely that reason you can feel her sincerity. You can either grant her wish on her behalf, or help her achieve it by her side.
Same deal as with Edgar's pre-fight stuff.
Yup!
Oh, well. That's a relief, I guess. I mean, yeah, I said I wanted to rely on you guys but, gonna be real, I was probably going to just go hog wild on it anyway. I... I want to lighten Lily's load with my own two hands. But, well, nice to be working with you.


Soleil has joined as a guest.

Soleil's a Death-Warding Reaper, weirdly enough. For my interests, she has five points in each type of debuff, and a maxed-out Scythe of Transience.

We can finally open this shortcut.

And now, welcome to a mess of corridors.


And these jerks.

Doomwheel

HP: 3380
STR: 144
INT: 97
VIT: 128
WIS: 138
AGI: 115
LUC: 128

Skills:Drops:Damage Resistances:
50% 100% 100%
10% 150% 50%

Disable Resistances:
50% 100% 100% 0% 100% 150% 50%
0% 100%
100% S 100% 50%
Doomwheels always open battles by reducing your party's accuracy by 50%. Always. And then once you've managed to hurt them they start screwing your party up with Revenge Revolution.

I would like to point out at this time that Kaelin hits pretty hard as an Elemelon.



Damn.


Damn.


There we go.






Fun times with one tile-wide corridors with damage tiles everywhere.

Obtained Guard Sole.
...Thank you, game.

You'll forgive me for skipping to the end of this section, I assume.
I'll never forgive you. You Bastard

Alright, what've we got waiting for us now?

As you ascend the stairs in hidden area Soleil showed you, you're suddenly stopped by a fiendish aura!



Lurking deeper within is an enormous dragon, somehow still intact despite its rotten skin falling off in chunks, revealing its inner organs. In response to its powerful aura, you reflexively let out a gasp. Whether or not it's noticed you, it begins to move!


You're suddenly engulfed in the thick black smoke breathed out by the dragon. While you were able to keep track of your position, you're unable to make out your surroundings.


That's it: the Dragon Zombie. ...Y'know, part of me was hoping it wasn't literally a zombie dragon. How's something so freaking big get the drop on us? 'Least this black crap isn't toxic, but...probably does something else. Don't get careless.
When she's done speaking, Soleil steps forward as if leading the way. You hurry behind her so as not to leave her alone.
Welcome to the Dragon Zombie area. Every few steps, the fumes will disappear for one turn, and then Dragon Zombie will notice you again, no matter where you are, and spit them out again.

While the fumes are active, your party will start all battles unconditionally blinded. There is no way around this at all.
BARF




Ah, yes, that's the last thing about this place. While the fumes are active, all of the Wandering Flame-Phantoms in the area are invisible, both on the map and on the actual field.

Obtained Reliquary.
Fuck that noise, I don't think anyone's interested in watching me bump into invisible FOEs for a few minutes.
If you're not careful, the low-level FOEs can actually kill you here. Why? Because the Dragon Zombie can actually use his exploding gas attack from outside the battle. And the Flame-Phantoms have fire attacks. It's not too likely to cause a problem, but if you're like me and just auto-battle through this part without paying attention to the screen, you might look back to find your party dead with no idea what happened.

As you enter the depths of the third stratum, you reflexively turn your heads away. Having seen it before, you assumed you'd be used to it by now, but this was not the case. One reason might be the terrible stench given off by the decaying rot upon rot of its body, but the disgusting and murderous aura of a dragon back from the dead was a strong contender as well.


Ol' Bonehead took a dragon gone to its last reward and did this to it. ...What an ass. If we leave this guy alone, though, he's gonna hurt untold numbers of people. We've gotta end him now.
Soleil flourishes her scythe towards the Zombie Dragon.
Guy's bad news, definitely. But...be cool. I'm here, too.
Your scythe's not as weird and cool as Raven's, though.
After her posturing, if you're ready all that's left is to begin the battle against the ruined remains of a great dragon!


How about I open this shortcut and go back to town to heal first?

If you time things right, you can start the fight with Dragon Zombie before it gets to spew out the fumes.
VIDEO: Boss: Dragon Zombie



It's kinda sub-optimal to start the battle with your entire party blinded, as you might imagine.

If you expected Alexis to do anything but poke at the boss to annoy it by this point, I dunno what to tell you.

I have Cecil use Lead Blow in anticipation of Chain Blast, but...

Soleil's gonna do the same rotation that Raven normally does.

Chain Blast is kind of an expected part of opening fights by this point, I feel.

A Compressed Ice Stream should be fun.

Mio buffs up everyone's damage...

And Dosen buffs up the front row's HP.

Piss.

...What the fuck happened here?

Hahaha holy god Kaelin hits like a truck

At least that single, solitary head bind prevented Dark Breath from going off.

(Prayer: Longevity.)

(Poison Rain.)
I don't even want to think...about what body fluid we're covered in...
Exactly how does that use the arms, again?

Cecil's still here!

(Dark Heal.)
...How is that fair?


(Stamp Feet.)

That should give me some insurance against Combustion.



Combustion activated!
wait but dark breath isn't even

oh whatever

That would be a lot worse if I didn't have Prayer: Blaze active!

And then it doesn't hit Dragon Zombie for that much, of course.

Hey, I'll take it.

Cost Cut activated!
When you're dealing with effective TP costs of 65 (lv5 High-Speed Incantation plus lv10 Ice Stream plus lv10 Compression), you really begin to appreciate Cost Cut immediately refunding you 65 TP.

(Curse Rain.)
...That's bad.

What I'd give...to be able to interrupt myself...


I dunno why but I find Kaelin overkilling himself by that much kinda funny


Kaelin what the hell are you doing.

I've been studying your astrological sign. Is this pleasing your dark gods?

What are you talking about.

The posthumous TP heal from The Moon's Favor is just icing

Hygieia's Bowl lets me get back on my feet quickly.

Fire Breath doesn't hurt much on its own. Combined with Combustion, though, ouch.

Would also like to point out that Dosen's overheal makes Soleil durable as hell.

Excuse me, sir. There's something you clearly do not understand.


I'm very fast.


This fight can get pretty nasty, but I got off kinda lucky.

When you head to the great beyond, tell your master I said... Hello.






The Zombie Dragon seemed to be embody the ferocity spoken of in draconic myth. Its fearsome claws and fangs, not to mention its terrible breath, brought you close to annihilation more times then you'd care to remember. However, your spells and techniques eventually wear it down, and the abomination falls to the ground! It's flesh melts away immediately, and the dragon returns to its rest in the Vanguard's Mortuary. You've successfully defeated the most powerful creature in the Labyrinth! Your client, Soleil, then stares at the creature's corpse and mutters a few words.


Finally. She can head home, take it easy...live a normal life.
She puts away her scythe and turn to face you.
...Even though I did all the research and I made it into a request and all... There's no way I could've done this without you. So, uh... Th-thank you.
You're quite welcome.
The scythe-wielding girl glances away timidly as she says this. As you blink and silently process the fact that she thanked you sincerely, she turns to glare at you as if offended.
What? It's basic common sense to say thank you if you're grateful. You got a problem?!
N-no?
Pointing her finger at you as if you're in the wrong, she lets out a sigh of exasperation and turns her back to you.
You assholes always throw me off. Catch you later.
After she says this, she leaves. But for just a moment, you could swear you saw a gentle smile on her lips.


Our level cap gets raised for having defeated Dragon Zombie.


Dragnar Mail (+120 DEF, +70 MDEF, +30 HP) is made from 1 Rotten Dragon Ulna (Dragon Zombie normal). Costs 360000 en, sells for 144000 en.







Sounds like the request went well. *chuckle* The client's been waiting for you.


Oh, heya! Over here, everyone!
Good day to you both.
Yo. So, uh. How're you feeling?
Honestly? Invincible!
Oh, well, that's, uh. That's great.
So Soleil comes home looking downright ecstatic, saying something about how we don't need to worry about that undead monster anymore. Of course, I'm completely shocked, so I start pestering her about it because, well, you know me, and she spilled the beans about asking you guys right away. I mean, gosh, Soleil, I really need to teach you how to keep a secret, you're terrible! Though... I guess I'm not much for it myself. Anyway, it sounds like you guys were a huge help to her, so thank you!
Yeah... What she said.
Um, excuse me? At this point, you're supposed to say "thank you," Soleil.
What? No, I-- I already thanked them. They... You heard me, right?
Yes, but--
Saying thank you a second time is never a bad idea! C'mon, we're waiting!
...I put up a reward, so go grab it already! Later!
Hey, Soleil! Wait up!
...Those two certainly are unique.


*chuckle* Well, that's a side of Soleil I never thought I'd see. No doubt she's only acted like that around Lily until now. Maybe it's weird for me to be the one saying this, but I hope you can stay good friends with those two from here on out. Now then, here's the reward they left with me. Good work, as always.


Obtained 250000 en.


Well, that'll do for now. Next time: damage tiles.

Sigh.

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