Matou Shinji and the Broken Chains (HP/FSN CYOA)

[skulkidcachi90]

[X] Continue - he swore to assist her as long as she wished, and she clearly isn't done exploring

[Malorius]

[X] Continue - he swore to assist her as long as she wished, and she clearly isn't done exploring

Woot! An easy choice, finally! Wait, deadly danger what now?..

We all have our reasons to choose this option, but in my mind our promise to Sion is the most important one. That bears the question: why isn't Sokaris at least noted as the reason of Shinji's decision? Are we completely focused on Elesa now?

...I thought that Shinji's obsession with Sokaris was his defining trait(which syncs nicely with his desire to prove himself and be accepted). Did we change it with persistent chasing of other waifus, I mean, goals?

[Malorius]

Accepting his end, Shinji closed his eyes and waited...

Pretty much the only part of the update that made me grimace. One would think that after all the challenges and near-death experience he had, Shinji will meet his end not like a common man, succumbing to the inevitable with a deceptive "acceptance" - but with gritted teeth and desperate defiance of the odds. Oh well, I guess even Yin was just a flavor.

No surprise that Elesa views him as a barely competent pawn! (Even if it's totally because of our decision making skills.)

Seriously, I don't expect a fourteen year boy to die as a hero, but he struggled to be a warrior for so long, give him that much credit. Shinji is far from normal.

[alfheimwanderer]

[X] Continue - he swore to assist her as long as she wished, and she clearly isn't done exploring

---

It was clear what his choice had to be - not just from a desire to continue and prove himself, but because he knew that if the plants around him - like Thaumatagoria - or the crystal formations on this floor were any indication of what lay ahead, then what awaited at the very bottom must be something beyond his ability to even conceive of in his most fevered imaginings. And well, while he'd done enough to satisfy his basic agreements, or to please his former Master, his promise to Sokaris wasn't something so simple.

He'd said to her that he would do his best. Not that he would win, not that he would brew the best potion the world had ever seen, but that he would do his best.

If he simply gave up now, when Elesa was offering him an easy out, how could he look Sokaris in the eye and claim to have done all that he could? To have truly done his very best?

Simply put, he couldn't.

That...and he had promised Elesa that he would assist her as long as she wished it, so long as she planned on exploring the island. Perhaps she was willing to release him, but since she was going to be continuing no matter what he chose, he thought, it would be against the spirit of the agreement, if not the letter, if he did not choose to continue to accompany her.

Why, he'd only begun to prove himself useful - perhaps enough to make up for being a burden.

'I don't want her to think of me as a burden.'
Or anyone for that matter.

"You won't mind if I choose to continue?" he asked.

"Not particularly," the blonde replied, which wasn't particularly a ringing endorsement, but didn't indicate refusal either.

"Then onward we go."

And so they would do so, but for now, Elesa thought it was a good idea to take a break and recover themselves, since the coming challenges and floors would only be more difficult. She allows the boy a night to recover...

What does he do with his time? (choose two)

[ ] Restock on ofuda
[ ] Brew potions with the new ingredients on this floor
[ ] Investigate the Saint Quartz formation
[ ] Rest and recover
[ ] Spar with Elesa - maybe she knows some tips for the melee

[Malorius]

Thanks for answering to my first comment, in story to boot. Any thoughts about the second thought? I am interested in your evaluation of Shinji's character.

[x] Restock on ofuda

Self-evident. Let's go for arrays this time.

[x] Spar with Elesa - maybe she knows some tips for the melee

As great of a teacher as Lockhart is, he is not capable of operating on Fusion speed, nor did he teach Shinji to fight at this level. He gave us a foundation - but Elesa is a specialist. Even a few pointers and simple tricks to manage our enhanced capabilities will help a lot, I think. Not to mention all the other aspects of Fusion she can hint at (the next level of Fusion requirements, for once).

We didn't get hurt enough this time to necessitate an action spent on recovery.

[alfheimwanderer]

Any thoughts about the second thought? I am interested in your evaluation of Shinji's character.

Frankly, I don't think there's a normal in how people approach death. Some rage and scream. Some shrink in fear. Some close their eyes and accept the end, after they've done everything they can to stave it off - as Shinji already had, without fusing again or otherwise jeopardizing Zelkova's chances of success.

He'll fight long and hard, but in the encounter with the golems, he was already pushing past his limits, dedicating everything to staying one step ahead, knowing that if he slipped up, he would die. The inevitable came about, and the boy, who indeed has been fighting as a warrior for a long time, realized that this time, there was nothing he could do. And beyond that, he was tired, so very tired.

And so he closed his eyes, accepting that he'd fucked up, and that it would mean his death.

[Daiki]

[x] Rest and recover.

A good night of rest and focus will do wonder for his body and mind. After the couple previous floors he (and Zelkova) needs it, let's be honest. If anything, you will need to be in a good state of mind if you want to unseal Perseus / have an easier shot with fusion.

[x] Brew potions with the new ingredients on this floor.

Use the resources around him - the stash of blank ofuda isn't limitless, so we may as well work with stuff that are readily available for now. We haven't stocked on potions all that much yet which is a good opportunity to do now with fresh ingredients. If we are lucky, he may also find some interesting properties to share with Rachelle (which she could use for her own potion), once we bring her some of those materials.

[Skull Leader]

Any of these options work for me. None of them scream must pick over the others.

I am rather curious about exploring the Quartz option. And sparing with Elesa would be nice, as Shinji needs to get better or he is going to die. Plus Shinji and Elesa do need to form so sorta teamwork between the two. I am going with the two picks here that resupply his tool bag. Ofuda/potions are both things we could stand to have more of. Plus Shinji still needs to unlock his Fading potion, not that I think we should focus on that at the moment when he can make other potions.

I can't began to tell you how much frustration I felt in the last couple of fights with Shinji's the lack of useful potions, that could expand our options beyond simply hit this with staff, ofuda it, or Element/Yin attack that.

Please expand our tools here.

[X] Restock on ofuda
[X] Brew potions with the new ingredients on this floor

Edit: It is not surprising to me how Shinji reacted to his upcoming death. After all, everything that Lockhart has taught Shinji in the challenges was basically the lesson that you WILL be in a position one day that you are completely helpless and will die. That and combined with his magus background basically prepared that reaction in him. Sure had his thought had gone towards Luna or Sokaris, he might have refused to die and tried to keep fighting until his body is obliterated.

And that like a lot of moments this championship is the worst part, that in his last moments he does not thinks about Luna...or even Sokaris.

[Malorius]

Ironically, even if we are completely outclassed in the area by talented competition, Potions are our strongest subject bar none. I still don't see Shinji as a potioneer in the future, but maybe he knows some actually helpful receipts for our dungeon run?..

*looks through the list of best potions*

Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Skull Leader]

First, there are a lot of non-Top Tier potions that Shinji can make that might help him in the next places. Potions that freeze water, shrinking potion, Brain Elixer (Stop being stupid us Shinji), invisibility potion, etc. Granted for every useful potion, HP series has at least 5 absolutely useless potions that drown the good ones out.

Second, Potions is not super higher than the rest of his skills. Sure it is the highest. But Herbology is only .5 years behind. Ofuda and charms is 1.5 years behind yet are still above his grade level. Not bad for a boy that has never taken a formal class on Ofuda making.

Third, what did we expect to happen during the Potion Championship? Did anyone really expect that Shinji was going to run into a bunch of 7th years that only had like 5th year level potion knowledge? These people are their countries best, and all of them have years more experience on him. Even if he is outclassed in potions does not mean he still can not brew them or use them in a smart manner.

After all, the potion championship ranks people on their skill and their use of potions. You can be the best brewer in the entire world, but if you do not know how to best use your creations then you are not going to win this thing.

But yeah I am not holding my breaths that he is going to start brewing something amazing potion; rather he needs to start brewing potions that help Shinji be what he always has been. The swiss army knife champion with a wide net of skills and options.

[Daiki]

I wouldn't be sure about bad potion results, remember that Shinji carefully studied previous championship runs ingredients. With a bit of chances, someone might even have indexed ingredients found in the higher temple floors (the competition goes quite far back iirc), thus giving Shinji a decent shot at bringing together a potion which would help in the temple.

Also, there is some Felix Felicis left that we could take in order to bring about something superior to what he could actually brew by himself.

EDIT: Guys, you should really consider resting since Shinji and Zelkova both pushed themselves lastly. We may have seen the wounds tended but healing is not recovering stamina - nor resting the mind either. Something you may regret to be lacking when tackling the next set of floors.

Especially if we find Shinji and Elesa separated / unable to support each other.

[skulkidcachi90]

[x] Rest and recover.
[X] Brew potions with the new ingredients on this floor and use his own blood too.

[Malorius]

Well, I've been convinced. Let's hope that the existence of cool potions I was promised will be worth it. We will just need to get a better Fusion combat instruction after the dungeon, I guess.

Consolidating. Wait, we are not voting by plan; why are we voting by line again?


[X] Restock on ofuda
[X] Brew potions with the new ingredients on this floor

Creating ofuda always helps Shinji to relax and focus. Unless we are really low on prana (Are we really low on prana, Alf?), we don't need to spend an action on recovery.

So, this option.

[ ] Investigate the Saint Quartz formation

It bothers me. Can it be connected to the main quest? Another side quest? Additional objective making the rest of the quest easier?

I feel like I'm forgetting something. Any ideas?

[Skull Leader]

Ok I guess rest is super important.

I will change out my vote for Ofuda with [X] Rest and recovery

[Malorius]

Oh, come on. We drop our last reliable tool and hope that potions won't suck like they usually do? Is that it?

[Malgos]

Rest and potions.

[Malorius]

Well, the vote is decided. Here goes nothing.

[Malorius]

You know, the fact that we apparently have a Mentor reputation stat with Kaiduka makes me wonder. Do we need to raise our approval numbers higher to learn the next stage of Fusion or is it entirely dependent on Zelkova's state/our training?

Basically, are higher tiers of skills generally locked behind high Mentor approval, mechanically speaking? Sounds logical to me. That, once again, brings up the specialization issue.

[alfheimwanderer]

You know, the fact that we apparently have a Mentor reputation stat with Kaiduka makes me wonder. Do we need to raise our approval numbers higher to learn the next stage of Fusion or is it entirely dependent on Zelkova's state/our training?

There are certain abilities locked behind high Mentor approval, yes, though Fusion is not necessarily one of them, since that one is largely dependent on one's state, and the relationship between self and familiar.

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Rest and recover.
[X] Brew potions with the new ingredients on this floor

---

Give me some suggestions for potions. You have access to some of the rarest materials in the world - so, pitch some useful potions and their effects, and I'll consider adding them into the story.