I move down to the next map, and see that my next destination is here. There’s one battle on the way. I go into it.
My levels are as follows. Lucia is 22, Cecille is 23, Nicolai and Theo are 25, Leon and Mel are 26, Alph, Saki, Pollon, and Vivi are 27. Mavi, who has apparently just joined my team, is 30. Because she’s a bit higher level than everyone else, I will not use her for this battle. I decide to bring in Alph, Theo, Leon, Nicolai, Cecille, Saki, Lucia, and Mel. And like I said before, Pollon sucks. I’m not going to use him.
My opponents for this battle are all human. There’s two Magicians, two Clerics, two Brawlers, and two Rangers. We’re on opposite sides of a river, with two bridges on either side to get across. I’ll try and keep everyone together if possible, because anyone left alone will probably die. And I want to save my three remaining feathers for the next battle. Again, I remember it being difficult. But if things go the way they’ve been going, I’ll probably clear it on my first try. Funny how that’s been happening.
I start moving my guys over to the bridge on the right. Amusingly, all the girls are on one side while all the guys are on the other. I have Nicolai raise his, Theo’s, and Leon’s speed in order to get them to catch up more easily. He levels to 26. Saki uses Chi Strike on an archer. She’s been hit a few times, so Lucia heals her. Lucia levels to 23. I start being able to attack the other guys.
Funny, Cecille is still saying things like “May God be with us,” despite what we’re learning about the Church. She can’t go on saying that forever, can she? Theo levels to 26 after attacking a fighter. Lucia’s Shine magic really, really sucks at this point. I wish she’d learn a new offensive spell. Cecille levels to 24 after healing Leon and Saki. Oh yeah, and Mel died not too long ago.
The first kill of the battle goes to Leon. He levels to 27. Saki levels to 28. Those Clerics are getting really, really annoying, by the way. I really should take them out when I get the chance.
Theo dies after being attacked a few times. Wow. This fight is actually kind of challenging. Lucia just got killed as well. Now I only have five guys left. Against seven. I should probably revive Mel or someone. I hate to use a feather, but I really need someone else.
OH MY GOD. CLERICS. STOP HEALING PEOPLE. D: Nicolai dies. I might actually lose. Mel gets the second kill, taking down a Magician. She levels to 27. And DAMMIT CLERIC STOP IT. If I lose this time, I take them out first. Alph dies. Also, if I lose, I’ll use more items. Saki kills an archer.
Mel kills the first of the two clerics. This’ll hopefully make things easier. Leon uses his level 2 flash drive, and kills the remaining archer and cleric. OK, things are looking brighter. I have four guys, they have two. Saki levels to 29. Cecille kills the Magician, leaving only the Brawler left. She levels to 25. Saki kills off the last guy, securing my victory.
Wow. That was kind of sad. I almost lost in a non-story battle. My rewards are 4500 Rico, a FP-Fizzy, and three Vitae called Mesa, Esta, and Prox. Wait, Prox? Whatever. I intermission with Theo, for what’ll probably be his last time. He says that today was a great day. Do I know why? My answers are “Did you have a huge omelet?” “You look taller today,” and “’Did you meet a cute girl?” I choose the middle answer. He seems surprised, and asks if I really think so. Then he seems excited, saying he’ll be taller than Alph someday. I don’t get anything, though.
Once I’m back on the world map, I save and continue on towards the research center.
We arrive and find…nothing? Leon remarks that the place is a mess. A random researcher comes along, and says that a light appeared and destroyed everything. Lucia says she can’t believe Vanessa did this. Suddenly, Mel says she spots her. Alph comes up, and says that she’ll pay. Cecille can’t believe she killed all those people. Even Nicolai is disgusted, and that’s saying something. Vanessa protests, saying she didn’t do it, but no one listens to her. She decides she’ll fight anyway. I can return to the world map, or I can start the fight. I go to the world map, save, and begin.
The battle prep screen comes up right away. I bring in Alph, Theo, Leon, Nicolai, Cecille, Lucia, Vivi, and Mel.
Yeah, I remember this battle being where things started getting difficult. I’ll see how well I do this time. If I have trouble, I’ll try saving at moments where I’m doing well. My opponents are five Hikopins, along with Vanessa and her two Behemoths. Hey, wait a minute. Lucia said that Witches don’t control or summon monsters. If that’s the case, then why does Vanessa always have those Behemoths whenever I fight her? Did she train them or something? I wouldn’t think monsters would be tameable…but given that she’s Vanessa, she probably found a way. It probably wasn’t pretty, either.
The battlefield is mostly flat, with a lower area in the corner and two staircases leading up. I start on the lower area. I begin moving up the stairs on the left.
Oh yeah, now I remember why this is hard. The Hikopins. They can use area fire attacks now, and they’re pretty strong. Two of them attack Alph and Theo. Lucia heals them, and levels to 24. I’m also trying to use my FP increase items this time. They’re quite useful, but I tend to forget about using items.
A Hikopin kills off both Theo and Vivi all of a sudden. I’d better res them. Theo gets revived first, and then Nicolai gives himself, Mel, and Cecille a speed buff. He levels to 27. Oh yeah, did I mention that one Hikopin is down? Guess I forgot about that.
Also, both Nicolai and Cecille are killed. I should probably res Nicolai first. Lucia kills another Hikopin, and levels to 25. Theo dies next. Dang. This is not good. Mel attacks a Hikopin and levels. I bring back Cecille, but Vanessa kills her. Mel’s the next to die. Leon levels to 29 after killing another Hikopin.
Lucia dies. This is really not good. Next, Alph goes down. SHIT. Leon’s the only one left, and I can’t revive anyone else. I might as well turn off, but I figure I should keep trying as long as I can. Which isn’t much longer, as he’s quickly finished off.
OK then. Honestly, maybe I should run back to the last battle in order to train a bit more. Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll do that.
I won’t bore you with the details. It wasn’t easy, though, and it took some time. But I did get some good levels out of it. I intermission with Leon this time. He asks me if I have anyone I’m thinking about. My answers are “Maybe Lucia,” “Maybe Cecille,” and “I’m worried about Theo.” Well, the third one misses the point, and I can’t say the middle one because Leon likes Cecille. So I pick the first. He says he knew it, and that now that he can help me, it’s all smooth sailing. Then he asks what that look is about.
Anyway, I save again. Maybe this time I’ll be more prepared for the battle with Vanessa. So I go over and choose my guys. I decide to test out Mavi this time. Maybe she’ll be helpful. Other than her, I bring in Alph (required), Theo, Leon, Nicolai, Cecille, Lucia, and Mel.
This time, I save before I do anything, so that I can just go straight to the battle if I lose. Given that my lucky streak appears to be over, this is a distinct possibility. Mavi goes first this time. I wasn’t thinking she was very fast, but I guess she is. However, her movement isn't that great.
I’m going to go up the other staircase this time, just to see if it works any better. Things go well for a while. All my guys are still alive, and nothing much has happened. A few turns later, Theo dies. Looks like I spoke too soon. Oh well, I can bring him back.
Lucia learns a new spell when she levels to 28. Hopefully it’s a better attack spell, but I can’t tell yet. And...aw, HELL. Vanessa gets two attacks within a few turns of each other. Lucia dies. OK, I’ll have to res her, too. First kill goes to Mel, on one of the Behemoths. And then shortly after that, Leon and Alph die. Crap. Now I have to pick who to bring back, since I only have two feathers. I bring back Mel, but then Nicolai dies. Vanessa again moves twice within a relatively short period of time. And guess what? Cecille and Mavi die, leaving Mel alone. This is really getting on my nerves. Frustrated, and knowing I can’t win, I turn my DS off and on.
OK, let’s try this again. From now on, my covering of this battle will be minimal. I don’t want to write up a whole detailed review only to lose and be forced to start over. I reload my battle save, and begin another attempt. Oh yeah, one more thing. If I remember correctly, this is a two-part battle. Once I win, I have to go up against someone else. I won’t say who it is, though, although I will say it’s someone we haven’t seen before. I think the second part was easier, but I can’t say for sure.
Oh, crap. A ways in, I find out that Vanessa has a charm spell. That’s right, the kind of thing that makes your guys attack each other. That doesn’t even get the chance to happen this time, though, as all afflicted units are quickly slaughtered. It doesn’t take long for me to lose again.
That’s three losses so far. Even though the chapter isn’t done, I’m feeling like wrapping this up for now. Clearly, I have a difficult battle to get through, and I don’t think it’s reasonable to put all my attempts in one entry. For that matter, chances are that I’ll have to do a bit of leveling. I’m not willing to do hours of grinding or anything, mind you. But if I’m losing this badly, then getting a few levels is probably the best option.
I’ll get back to this later.
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