Celestalia's Challenge - A Maple Journal

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Hmmmmmm. Well, if you insist! Also, thanks for not spoiling it

PART CLXIV. Boomerang Bowman

Spoiler: PART CLXIV. Boomerang Bowman

The race for Rangemaiden is truly on, and Celestalia, desperate as she is for the Asiatic Bow, or any upgrade really, was happy to receive a very special tip off that Mossy Mushroom might indeed hold the key to victory for this leg of the campaign.

We do need to confirm that, of course. It might take a while. But, it was about time for Celestalia to roll her sleeves up and get back to a nice, painful grind anyway. It's been a while since we've had one of those, dontcha know.

So without fighting a single mob on Victoria Island, the Huntress was right back on the boat to Orbis and then Ludibrium - like a boomerang. Hence this entry.


Well...let's just throw ourselves at this and see how it goes. Our start time is understandably early - 22:45.

So the first step in this grand scheme was to whack a Mushroom for 2465. (That would later be increased to 2491.)

Step 2 was apparently to get Stone Bug to drop a Cromi.


There was no Step 3.

It was about 25 minutes in that Celestalia, on a lark, peeked into the Monster Book to discover:


Huh. Wait a second. Are you saying that Stone Bug is stronger than Mossy Mushroom? But that's not possible - Mossy Mushroom is four levels higher than Stone Bug! But that's not telling the whole story. Despite the level disadvantage, Stone Bug's touch damage is actually 20-25 points higher than Mossy Mushroom. So which one really is the stronger mob here?

Okay, it's time to amend the clarification on to Rule 2 then. This is an unusual situation BUT. If the Monster Book decrees it, then we must naturally follow. This text is why the challenge exists, remember.

So this sentence will suffice: The card furthest into the Monster Book will be considered the strongest mob.

Thus. If we can demonstrably prove that Stone Bug blocks the spawn of Mossy Mushroom - which it does easily - then we in fact can advance to:


And RNG clearly agreed with this judgment.


By 23:20 we even had a second card.

Five minutes later, we had a Blue Sonata,


briskly followed by a Mithril Brist.

Another few minutes brings us the third card. And card #4 arrived in a similar interval.

BOY AM I STUPID.


I have seriously been calling this bow by the wrong name the entire time haven't I. Well correct me if I'm wrong but is not 'Asiatic' the correct spelling of the term? You can't really blame me for that one.

Anyway, very easy card set...


Ellin Forest has been conquered, but the fight is just beginning. FIFTEEN points of Weapon Attack are on the line in this struggle. WHO WILL PREVAIL?!? Stay tuned!!

 

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PART CLXV. The Battle of Mushroom Hill

Spoiler: PART CLXV. The Battle of Mushroom Hill

This is it. We have a bit under 180% to pick the Asianic Bow up from the evil clutches of Mossy Mushroom. If we succeed...well, chances are we will. If not, we'll come back and Arrow Rain them to death.

But we will succeed. We must. FOR THE EMPIRE.

Dang it Lohd, get out of the way!

Admittedly there isn't much to say. They only drop five equips, so, like, the chances of us getting the Asianic first (or maybe third?) is a bit higher than usual, and well, I won't have much to write for it.

Celestalia did break for a snack/vote a bit after midnight though.

Coming out of that we started using Warrior Potions. Partly due to that, we finally were able to break through with another drop a bit short of 00:45.


I see this is going to be another one of those battles where the equip we need is the very last one to drop. That is a time-honored mushroom tradition. Green Mushroom did it with the Grey Able Armor; Blue Mushroom did it with the Red Shivermail set. Both of those are ancient history at this point though, so who cares.

We took another hour and tried a few different fighting methods, like luring all nine Mushrooms in one spot (which takes a lot of HP to do...but also probably saves us a bunch of MP, so hey), but nothing really worked, and in the end Celestalia left just over the 50% mark. Honestly I think I'll just switch back to normal fighting.

Now, about accommodations. Well, this is a camp. And...well, Ellin Forest belongs to us now. So I doubt anyone will mind if we spend the night in the main hall. Celestalia likes the aura the leader gives off.

Sorry Celestalia, in this time period superiority isn't quite decided by how high level your equips are. Well, it's not really in yours either.

Ultimately Celestalia picked somewhere a bit quieter to spend the night.


We might not be able to equip them yet, but the Colorful Tubes make wonderful headrests. They have surprising weight to them, more than enough to support like would a normal pillow. Celestalia was quite comfortable despite having no mattress to match.

Before moving on, I guess I need to answer an important question. What happens if we do get the Asianic Bow prior to 70? Is there somewhere decent we can go? Mossy Snail for the Dark Willow, perhaps. It would make sense too, since we're already in the region. Now say we get both, as unlikely as that is. What do we do with the surely-scant time remaining? Maybe go back to Robos, but that won't get us anywhere we need to be quickly. The only other idea in my mind then, is Cellion for the Red-Hearted Earrings. Yeah, that could be okay. Plus, we'd be in Orbis ready to head down the tower and talk to Rene. And even if we got that, Crystal Flower Earrings from Grupin.

And there's virtually no way we get all four of these in a level and a half. Right?

Yeah, don't lose any sleep over it. We'll be lucky to get the Asianic Bow before all of this.

In the next installment, the combat continues in the ancient woodland. Stay tuned!

 

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PART CLXVI. The Race to Seventy

Spoiler: PART CLXVI. The Race to Seventy

You might be aware that tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of the start of this campaign. It'd be...really cool if we could make the 3rd Job Advancement then. For that, it was fortunate that we were able to get on on Tuesday at all. Even so, Celestalia knew she had to move quickly if she was to have any hope of making that auspicious date.

Celestalia ultimately started at 23:35 on Tuesday. There is not much else to say. So...instead of boring you with the details of the fighting, allow me to bore you with very brief and concise details instead.

I'm just going to show something of a 'battle journal' with timestamps and simple descriptions. Celestalia always keeps a precise* written tally like this, but it's usually in the imaginary background. Well, I hope I won't eventually have to show this too much more.

*May not actually be that precise.

~~~

Wednesday 00:02 - Acquired a Green Plasteer (2).


Wednesday 00:07 - 68/60% achieved.

Wednesday 00:37 - 68/70% achieved.

Wednesday 00:45 - Snack.

Wednesday 01:04 - Return to combat.

Wednesday 01:27 - 68/80% achieved.

Wednesday 01:50 - Achieved day's experience target (87.50%).

Wednesday 01:51 - Acquired a Blue Sonata (2).


Wednesday 01:58 - 68/90% achieved.

Wednesday 02:05 - Sold Etc. items.

-Inventory-
Elixir ... 792.
Watermelon ... 481.
Red Bean Sundae ... 561.
Ice Cream Pop ... 635.

Tomorrow's experience target ... 69/27.90%.

~~~

Wednesday 21:30 - Battle resumed.

Wednesday 22:04 - Obtained Level 69.


Wednesday 22:25 - Raised Top Hit to 2520.

Wednesday 22:48 - 69/10% achieved.

Wednesday 22:49 - Raised Top Hit to 2524.

Wednesday 22:55 - Rest and snack.

Thursday 00:08 - Return to combat.

Thursday 00:08 - Acquired Green Goldwind Shoes (1)


Thursday 00:29 - 69/20% achieved.

Thursday 00:34 - Raised Top Hit to 2529.

Thursday 00:38 - Raised Top Hit to 2536.

Thursday 00:55 - Achieved day's experience target (27.90%).

Thursday 01:04 - Acquired a Blue Sonata (3).


Thursday 01:09 - 69/30% achieved.

Thursday 01:35 - End of day - sold Etc. items.

Thursday 02:04 - Bored, went to Mossy Snail for a diversion.

Thursday 02:10 - Acquired a Red Duke.


Thursday 02:18 - Returned to Library.

-Inventory-
Elixir ... 792.
Watermelon ... 435.
Red Bean Sundae ... 523.
Ice Cream Pop ... 630.

Tomorrow's experience target ... 68.18%.

~~~

Thursday 22:32 - Battle resumed.

Thursday 22:45 - 69/40% achieved.

Thursday 23:46 - 69/50% achieved.

Friday 00:00 - Break.

Friday 00:15 - Return to combat. Began utilizing Warrior Potions.

Friday 00:35 - 69/60% achieved.

Friday 01:00 - Achieved day's experience target (68.18%).

Friday 01:09 - 69/70% achieved. Break.

Friday 01:39 - Return to combat.

Friday 01:50 - End of day - sold Etc. items. Returned to Library.

-Inventory-
Elixir ... 792.
Watermelon ... 398.
Red Bean Sundae ... 493.
Ice Cream Pop ... 627.

Mossy Mushroom remaining to 70: 1,508.
Estimated battle time remaining ... 01:30.

~~~

Friday 22:47 - Traded Fame with Floris.

Friday 23:30 - Battle resumed.

Friday 23:43 - Acquired Green Goldwind Shoes (2).


Friday 23:58 - 60/80% achieved.

Saturday 00:07 - Acquired a Blue Sonata (4).


Saturday 00:09 - Acquired a Mithril Brist (2).


Saturday 00:25 - Acquired Green Goldwind Shoes (3).


Saturday 00:30 - Snack.

Saturday 00:47 - Return to combat.

Saturday 00:53 - 69/90% achieved.

Saturday 00:57 - Acquired a Mithril Brist (3).


At the tail end of the engagement, the rain started coming down pretty heavily, and there was a ton of lightning. Celestalia was pretty glad to get out of there, which she managed to do just after 01:30.

By the end of the hour, she was in Victoria selling her items. She wasn't paying that much attention, but we've made several million mesos here. Stimulators alone were worth nearly a million!

Understandably...we got everything else multiple times...but no Asianic Bow.

It wouldn't really be a good duel if we had, honestly.

In the next installment...and the final one of this leg of the campaign...a showdown one year in the making.

STAY TUNED!!

 

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PART CLXVII. Rangemaiden

Spoiler: PART CLXVII. Rangemaiden

Saturday 01:34 - Obtained Level 70.


The time has come.

We have a lot to discuss before properly setting out on this, but first things first. Let's grab the outfit progress. Since the combat outfit hasn't been used in a while, and the differences are quite minimal, I'll forego that for this round.

Level 60's prestige outfit was as follows:


Level 70:


We advanced at least two steps all across the main outfit, and we had a chance to move up three steps on Bow; that of course didn't happen. The only other thing to note is the Monster Book Ring upgrade. Interestingly, only two points of STR were added in this entire stretch.

Alright, let's do it. So, especially on the ball, Celestalia popped over to Ludibrium yesterday and got her Dark Crystals refined. Aescalloss having already done his 3rd Job Advancement, Celestalia knows pretty much everything on what to do.

It's just a matter of doing it, that's the problem.

The Huntress drops her way down Orbis Tower and return scrolls to El Nath at the first opportunity. With no time wasted, she sprints to the Chief's Residence and climbs the stairs to the vaunted Rene.

How does the Beige Patriot look? Celestalia thinks it might look better when...if what she thinks is going to happen happens. Will it?

Rene began,


Rene asked us to retrieve a Necklace of Strength. To do that, we must return to the legend herself, Athena Pierce! Time to do so.


...Or not, because Celestalia missed the 01:10 boat by about 10 seconds.



Okay, well, while we wait very impatiently for the next ride, let's go over the fight against Athena. I don't exactly know what attacks she's going to use, but we have plenty of Eyedrops in case she decides to try making us not able to hit anything. Also, we have Dexterity Pills for +10 Avoidability, and most importantly, Mini Cokes which we picked up while looking for the Deer Huntertop. They give us +8 Weapon Attack, which when combined with Bronze Arrows (Soul Arrow will not be used in this fight), gives us a total of +9, and 75 overall. That puts us on level with an Asianic. So in a way, we aren't too underpowered here.

In addition to this, we have Focus, which will grant us another 4 points of Avoidability (+14 total). That gets us to near 100. Not likely to mean too much, but it increases our chances of getting through the fight healthy.

As I said before, we are using Double Shot instead of Arrow Blow for this particular fight, because due to the way Criticals are calculated Double Shot does higher overall damage. I'm unsure on how much damage it takes to knock Athena back, but that's not a concern I have. The bigger concern is going to be getting through the fight as fast as possible.

And until we get Strafe, we can use Double Shot for other bosses too, for the same reason. (Then we can also reset points from Double Shot into Focus )

At 01:26, Celestalia arrives at her idol's school.


She's clearly getting more comfortable now that she's a higher level, but Athena is still intimidating to be around for a long time.

That will change.

Anyway, Athena has asked us to go to Sleepy Dungeon V and access the portal to fight her clone.


When Celestalia entered, she was in another area she has never seen before, except for in the dark depths of the dungeon. It was warmer than she might have expected, but the place gave her very creepy vibes.


She started to get a bit scared as she approached the second portal. Only the promise of victory propelled her forward.

Applying all of her buffs, she descended the crystalline cliffs to engage.

Whoops, didn't mean to turn that on. I think we took 2-3 hits just getting that turned off again XD

Celestalia hit hard enough, but Athena refused to go down. Eventually, she not only turned on attack and defense buffs, but she also shot arrows which struck half of Celestalia's health off.


That one above wasn't one of them, but whether it was or not was given very little warning. With how uneven the floor was, and Celestalia constantly wanting to be in range to keep shooting, Athena was able to keep the Huntress within one arrow of oblivion.

It didn't take long before one of those arrows found the center of Celestalia's heart.

~~~



Ah, wasn't this spot familiar. But she didn't feel nearly as bad as last time. At least not until...


Celestalia was secretly dreading this moment since the disaster at Oceanicia. If Hikaria thinks she needs a caretaker...she's wrong.

Their conversation went something like this:


"Then may the third time bring you victory."



...

Celestalia did not let it get that far.




Lesson learned: If it works, don't abandon it. Arrow Blow was by far the more reliable ability, and of course, Athena was knocked back several times. That saved us a lot of trouble after all.

With the Necklace of Strength in hand, it was now time to go back to El Nath and prepare for the second part of the test.

But Celestalia knew the hard part was behind her. Maybe it was inevitable that she would have to walk through the valley of death once again to truly be ready for advancement.

Rene debriefs her on the whereabouts of the second necklace.


This Holy Stone lies outside of the imperial boundaries. But with Rene's guidance, we are able to go as far as we need to. Not that I planned to anyway, but we're not allowed to attack monsters while away from the Empire.

After navigating seemingly endless ice fields and forest valleys, not to mention Ice Cream Pops, Celestalia arrives at the Holy Stone.


To pass, Celestalia must answer five questions. I know what you're thinking: Are we going to do this blind? My answer is...well, no. We don't have to! As many resources as she lacks, Celestalia is...a member of the ML Forums! So, she's practically memorized this thread which has the questions already. Consider it similar to your typical exam study guide.

Nevertheless, I will do as much as I can without consulting it.

The five questions we received are:

1. Which person was not part of the Alpha Communication Network? (Charlie)
2. Which NPC is not in Orbis? (Sophia)
3. Which monster is found on the boat to Orbis? (Crimson Balrog)
4. Which NPC is not in Kerning City? (Luke)
5. Where is the Dark Lord in Kerning City? (Thieves' Hideout)

Aescalloss also got question 4, if I recall correctly. So it was really only the first one that Celestalia had no way of knowing without studying first. Remember, she's practically barred from doing quests.

Celestalia found herself with the Necklace of Wisdom and pulled back to El Nath as soon as she had the ability to Return Scroll.

The hooded trainer was thoroughly impressed. At long last, Celestalia has earned the rank of Rangemaiden!!


She also has earned a hair upgrade. As expected?


Okay, good to hear.

So what now? Frankly, it's time for a break. Celestalia has absolutely earned a weekend off. She will spend the two-week vacation at her hostel in Ludibrium...from which point she will continue the great and glorious goal of conquering the Maple World.

Thank you for coming along with me for an amazing one year of the challenge. I hope year two is as full of excitement, mystery, and adventure as the first! Join us in two weeks when Celestalia's journey continues. Until then!!

 

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PART CLXVIII. Mio

Spoiler: PART CLXVIII. Mio

Good evening and welcome to another weekend of the exciting and fun adventure possible extreme monotony that is Celestalia's Challenge! I can tell you now this is going to be a short post. Why? Well, Celestalia has done a great bit of thinking over the weekend she had off, and figures that the only real way to go is go back to Mossy Mushroom and finally pick up that Asianic Bow.

There is one main reason why this is the correct option, and it lies within the 3rd Job skill tree. You see-


Huh! I wonder what that could be. Time to head over to Duey and see what's in store.


Hmm. Oh dear. Look at what's inside...


Seems like someone didn't get the memo Celestalia won't be able to use it, but she'll be happy to hold on to it as a memento. I'm really happy people are thinking about her that much all the same. Thanks for being so thoughtful

[Editor's Note: The memo was gotten after all. Thank you again XD]

But, supposing Celestalia was able to use this, and she could equip the Bow of Magical Destruction right now. Does the decision change? Well, yes, but she'd still be in Ellin Forest for the time being. Here's why:


You'd think I'd know ahead of time that Arrow Rain was locked behind an SP paywall. Still, it's not a bad paywall. In fact, next to Arrow Rain, this could be the most useful skill of the entire set.


I like passives a ton, and I especially like passives which give a 1/3 chance right off the bat to do serious damage instead of plonking when a skill gets activated within melee distance.

I doubt the 1% to kill is going to do much, but it's going to be hilarious if and when it does activate.

So the initial plan is:
Mortal Blow x5
Arrow Rain x30
Mortal Blow x15

After which I am going to focus primarily on Strafe and Puppet in some order which I can't really predict. But the above alone will take long enough, so safe to not worry about it. Needless to say, Arrow Rain is going to be the single most important skill for conquest purposes, so getting it maxed as early as possible will be critical.

I was considering putting a point in Strafe until I saw the damage output was not terrific. By pure numbers, Arrow Blow is 260%, Strafe 208%. And the 3rd Job advancement taught Celestalia that knocking back a monster is more important than total DPS.

Okay, it's finally time to get ranging...or something. The battle resumes at 00:25.

Mortal Blow's animation has that 'late-game flashy skill' feel coming on. I like it!

The fight starts with a nice hit for 2582 - made possible by 9 points of DEX that got tacked on from the level and the free 5 points on advance. Some time later, a 2602 comes up, the first 100-point milestone on this side of the advancement!

Celestalia gets on the board at 01:18 with a Mithril Brist (#4 since getting here).


It's not like she was really working all that hard. The Rangemaiden was taking frequent breaks, and in the first hour only got around 10%. That's a bit over half of what she averaged in the run up to 70.

After another extended break, Celestalia lands her second Mithril Brist of the evening at 02:11. That was the last notable thing to happen. Ultimately, she didn't reach 20% until after 03:00, and by that point she was basically done for the evening.

This was always going to be a warmup day. Tomorrow, she should be firing on all cylinders again. Even so, two equips were picked up, and that's as promising as you can get around these nefarious parts.

I guess the goal is to get to 72 and start going down Eos Tower by the time the Christmas music comes back on. That gives her a bit over a month, and I think it can be done easily.

Just don't take too much longer to get warmed up

In the next installment, Celestalia rolls the dice on the as-of-thus-far-elusive weapon a ton more times. Stay tuned!

 

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PART CLXIX. News From Around the Empire

Spoiler: PART CLXIX. News From Around the Empire

(This will be the last post for this weekend. Quite the boring time, I apologize. Still, have a fantastic week!)

THE CELESTIAL SIGNET.

News From Around the Empire.

- 23 October 2021 -
50 mesos

BATTLE CONTINUES AT MUSHROOM HILL.
Mossy foes show no sign of relent.

Today the forces of the Celestial Empire continued their struggle against the devious Mossy Mushroom. One may draw great similarities between this action and that which happened at the Blue Mushroom Forest some ten months prior. That enemy was not at all willing to surrender the Red Shivermail armor, considered sacred pieces to them. The Ellin Forest is similarly a sacred place. An officer had this to say on the atmosphere:

"It is a place untouched by the modernism of our times. The design of the Asianic Bow was inspired by ancient arms, and so it's no surprise why we can't get them to budge."

What is hampering efforts considerably is a distinct lack of manpower. As of this point the combined forces have extracted less than 36% of experience since the moniker of Rangemaiden was bestowed upon our commander, and what battles are happening are quite brief in duration.

Below are the full details of today's combat.

01:17 - Battle resumed.

01:19 - Raised Top Hit to 2607.

01:28 - Acquired Green Goldwind Shoes (4).


01:56 - 70/30% achieved.

02:12 - Acquired Green Goldwind Shoes (5).


02:15 - Acquired Green Goldwind Shoes (6).


02:20 - Break (battle ended for the evening).

The Asianic Bow seems unobtainable, but wiser minds will be quick to point out that similar statements were made of many previous equips, including the aforementioned Red Shivermail armor. It is not a matter of if, but when. But that when may indeed be quite a way off if current trends continue. The next phase of the battle will be Friday, 29 October.

~~~

NAUTILUS ANNOUNCES NEW STRATAGEM.
Incorporating itself with rest of Victoria.
A helping hand offered to the rest of the island.

Nautilus Harbor has seen an influx of new faces since the start of the year, and one rising star within that number has Victoria's attention today. In a press conference held within the Nautilus, chief business analyst Erenell Vereina announced that he will lead a new group tasked with assisting with tasks and activities going on around Victoria. The organization, known as "NautiQuest", will begin deploying members around the island to do just that, with the promise of eventually expanding into Ossyria, Ludus Lake, and even beyond.


CAPTION: Mr. Vereina addresses a small audience in the Nautilus's conference room.

The first operations of NautiQuest are slated to begin in November, though Mr. Vereina will not address inquiries as to a specific start date. But the Level 31 Gunslinger has stated he will personally participate in the day-to-day activites of NautiQuest.

No comment as of yet has been made by other authorities of the island.

~~~

MYSTERIOUS FIGURE APPEARS NEAR PERION.
Black-clothed stranger with guitar on Stump-killing rampage.
Origin unknown.

Earlier today, Imperial forces identified a strange individual outside of Perion who appeared to be engaged in suspicious activity. He was allegedly using a guitar to wipe out a large number of Stumps. Customized weapons are not unusual, but several members of the patrol testified that the individual gave off a distinctly dark aura.

Descriptions of the figure stated that he was wearing all black with numerous silver skull and bone-like decorations, as well as armor-like insignia.

When confronted, he introduced himself as "the Metal Lord", who apparently hails from a plane called the "Distortion Dimension", which he rules. The location of this plane, or how to get there, has not yet been determined.

The Metal Lord was later captured in a blurry photograph just west of Henesys. That photo was forwarded to the Signet and is below.


CAPTION: Just another adventurer, or something else entirely?

That the individual was not immediately hostile is a good sign. Still, if he is indeed speaking the truth, what purpose he may have here can only be guessed, and not educatedly so. He is certainly worth keeping an eye on all the same.

Well then, I am absolutely going to hold on to it now! I'd ask where you got it but that's a bit out of line

 

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PART CLXX. A Ghoulish Grind

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Spoiler: PART CLXX. A Ghoulish Grind

A bit early for this, but Happy Halloween. Mushroom Hill is an abomination worthy of being ranked among October's most frightening freaks and wicked wraiths.

But where time is had, there is also hope. Celestalia wasted no time either, as she was there as early as...20:30?! Well, it wasn't a pure grinding time, and it couldn't be. Frequent breaks are about necessary if any success is to be achieved without her pulling all of her hair out in frustration.

Celestalia had a visitor today, however! As she was finishing up her snack for the evening, a few minutes before midnight, a special guest came into the map. After trading Fame, the Gunslinger reveals her secret identity.


It's Floris! What a pleasant surprise! This latest iteration of the Floris family was here fighting 150 Mossy Mushrooms, and with a lot of INT in her possession (she is destined for bigger things than Celestalia could ever hope to achieve ), asked for Celestalia's help. The Rangemaiden was more than happy to assist! Still no Asianic Bow...would have been great to get with Flit in the room. But anyway.

The Dynamic Duo

The answer to the above question by the way can be found in the second entry, and quite possibly, the hundred-sixty-seventh as well. Only one of those reasons had to do with Celestalia getting pwned.

Some time later, around 00:20, Flit called Celestalia again to deal with Primitive Boar, which she had plenty of experience in. That didn't take too long, and it was only after that that she finally began writing the day's journal entry.

Despite the long break periods Celestalia was above 16% for the day. And the main crux of the night's combat didn't even happen yet. That only got started around 01:00.

Before delving into that, I want to address a certain rule. It's the one that deals with not picking up items while partied and someone else is on the map. Now, in my defense, Flit's pet picked up a Green Plasteer, which was more worth than the items Celestalia was grabbing. Also, her pets were giving Celestalia mesos without her being able to interfere. So yeah, that was basically thrown out the window. Honestly, with as little meaning as money actually has to this campaign, I see no reason to actively enforce this rule. It's not like Celestalia really parties all that much anyway.

At 01:10, Celestalia got her technically second equip of the night, but the first we got to pick up. Of course, it's another Green Goldwind Shoes. Her seventh pair since getting here.


Twenty minutes later, she had her eighth.


Which was shortly followed up by Celestalia getting to 60%.

She would get a few more points before stopping at some point short of 02:00, and eventually heading back for the library at camp.

Well, if I can say one positive, it's that this was the most productive day yet in terms of experience. The average is...a bit over 20% a day, so that's fine.

Seriously though, can the trolling just quit. For once. In this journey.

JUST ONCE.

...

In the next installment, the trolling continues. Stay tuned!

 

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PART CLXXI. The Mush-O-Lantern Carving Contest

Spoiler: PART CLXXI. The Mush-O-Lantern Carving Contest

Celestalia began today's "festivities", if they can really be called that, even earlier than yesterday. 19:15. As usual, she took a lot of breaks. But, by the beginning of the standard session time (~01:15), she was at 85%!...with no equips.

Once again though, she had a bit of company! Please welcome today's contestant:


BaoChau was also tasked with Mossy Mushroom carving, but only had 50 or so to go when Celestalia woke up. So she explained the challenge while taking care of most of them.

Obviously, Celestalia is going to win any mushroom-killing battle on strength of quantity alone.

Ah, wait. Here comes another expert carver!


A 9x Priest, Phrixus had no need for Celestalia's help. She carves faster than the Rangemaiden, thanks to the powers of Shining Ray. Which is basically the Priest version of Arrow Rain. Celestalia is still about 115% away from starting that up.

So she got back to work at 01:15 and finally got an equip within 15 minutes. And here's the kicker: it wasn't a Green Goldwind Shoes!!

...Instead it was a Blue Sonata.

Scornful glare intensifies

At 01:39, Celestalia reached 90%.

*sigh* So what else happened today...well, Celestalia got to 50 million mesos, without selling Stimulators or equips. Yeah, Mossy Mushroom is fairly good for the wallet too. Who knew?!

Also, the Top Hit got bumped to 2619.

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

...Wait, WHAT?!1?1??!


THANK THE EMPRESS.

With THAT madness finally come to an end...let's see how both of these bows stack up.


Hmm. The Bow of Magical Destruction seems a bit obtrusive, yes. I'd consider ordering a re-skin, but I'll pass for now. It's not like the other equips can't be seen...just not as much.

Well, why not take the new damage output out for a test spin...


That's okay. But I was thinking a bit higher, maybe...


Yeah, something like that!



That too, that also works.

The next one was 3212, which Celestalia was a tad too slow to grab. That was then raised to 3215, which got hit twice.

When she got to 95%, Celestalia decided to leave because the Dark Willow is frankly not worth the time right now, when there are better equips to shoot for ahead of Arrow Rain's debut at 72. So, she circled to Victoria Island to sell (New total: 51.6m) and came back to Orbis, where the next two equips to hunt for lie. And they should be fun ones!

Remember which ones they are? If not, come back on Friday when those battles get underway. Until then, have an amazing week!

 

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PART CLXXII. The Hunt for Red Heartober

Spoiler: PART CLXXII. The Hunt for Red Heartober

Five months doesn't seem like that huge of a time gap, in fact it's less than half the length of the campaign so far. But for one equip to last that long, at least up to now, is unheard of.

But indeed, the Pansy Earrings, acquired in episode 106, have done so. Said earrings are now 25+ levels out of date, and next to the Dark Brace (which will be upgraded in short order), they are the lowest equip on Celestalia's person.

Time to fix that.

Celestalia began a few minutes before 23:30.

Get out of the way, cursor!

Arrow Bomb's damage varies wildly, but it has the potential to do up to half their health, which is fantastico.

The fun starts at 23:43 with a Dark Cleave.


Two platforms later, a Level 50 Red China. That's more like it!


Only a minute or two after that, a long and arduous Level 70 was at last brought to an end.


No question as to where to put points. 3 go into Mortal Blow (now a 38% chance to do the thing), and 5 DEX. Celestalia does have 10 AP Resets, if there is any urgent need for them she can address it at that stage. As it stands, she has 62 base STR and 80 total - which is enough for at least the Hinkel.

The bigger result, there is a chance that Celestalia is tied for my highest character all-time. She can solidify that for sure if she gets to 73.

Anyway, the Rangemaiden took a quick snack break and then got back to it around 00:15. The third equip of the evening came quickly, a Blue Moon Shoes.


Celestalia really appreciates being in a place where the monster she's fighting has a full drop table. Ellin Forest really drained her by having the drops be slow as a boulder to develop.

The other big thing she appreciates: Elixirs. During this session, she started on her seventh stack...in other words, she now has over 800 of them. That stack of 200 Christmas Candy, still untouched, is included.

The RNG dial turned back to Level 50 for a Silver Crusader Helm.


She then picks up a second Red China, and a second Dark Cleave, before landing this!


The Orange Tai is the male version of the Red Choro. What I mean by that is it adds primarily STR. Could they have been bothered that much to make the same stat overalls the same color?

Bowman problems, man.

A bit later, Celestalia finds the sixth unique equip of the night. Once again, back to Level 50.

"UyU" -Cellion

The matching top was to follow.


After that Celestalia was content to get to 25% and stop for the evening. That way, by the end of next weekend, she'll be at 72 and can start down Eos Tower with Arrow Rain, if she so chooses. But perhaps it might be better to stick around for one more level...who can say really.

Returning to Orbis, Celestalia sells her Cellion Tails, sending her over 52 million mesos, and then spends part of the excess to max out her stack of Nearest Town scrolls at 100. That is a thing she can do now and it's a terrific weight off the ol' shoulders

In the next installment, the earring search continues. Stay tuned!

 

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PART CLXXIII. A Lesson in Mob Throughput

Spoiler: PART CLXXIII. A Lesson in Mob Throughput

I don't know if I've mentioned this but I'm really glad to be out of Ellin Forest.

Celestalia with very little effort yesterday got all the way from 70/95% to 71/25%. And despite a late start tonight (~02:45), she can very easily get another 25%. If not more.

Ellin and Cellion...are really night and day as far as mob throughput is concerned. That's the key.

Anyway, moving to today's action. First up to bat is the Zard, which was dropped just about 15 minutes in. It is the eighth unique drop of the battle.


Followed by a repeat.


Then was an Orange Tai (another repeat) before Celestalia got unique #9 on the drop chart.

Gimme an E! Gimme an L! Gimme an I! Gimme an X!...uh, nevermind.

It was the only thing Cellion gave the Rangemaiden (she was a Huntress at the time ) during the card hunting phase, so here it is again: the Maroon Jangoon Shoes. I think Master Robo also drops them...Celestalia might be seeing it a bit more down the road.

This next thing however was a campaign first.


Some kind of...cube with a fire inside of it. Okay! The tag on it says it's used in fire attacks, but Celestalia has the feeling she's not invited to this party. Considering it went into her Use inventory, maybe Erenell would know more about the unusual device.

Speaking of Pirates...


The argument has been made that the design of Pirate gear is the best of all five jobs. Black Basile Boots (Level 60) is certainly one point in favor of this. Legitimately looks like something you could find in a fashionable shoe store.

The next drop was a second Zard, and then a third Red China.

The matching bottom to the latter was to follow.


That was all there was to be had before Celestalia hit the big 50% mark.

Yeah, so, this entire session took less than two hours. I'm honestly wondering if maybe it would pay after all to just stay here and farm Elixirs. Take a look at this freaking inventory.


It does help quite a bit that she's burning Watermelons, Sundaes, and Pops instead of the violet vials. It's just that...I want to say she's picked up a full stack this weekend alone. 875 is the total...I can't recall Celestalia having anything near that number of...anything. And who knows whether she might get even more goodies when Christmas comes back around!

If these earrings take too much longer to pop up, she might not even have room for those presents.

So, as of this point Celestalia has 11/14 Cellion drops. Only things missing are the Red Anakamoon, the Purple Goni Shoes (she got one from Lioner, but not here), and what she came here for.

Well, there's always next weekend. Two pairs of earrings are coming. Arrow Rain is coming. Elixir Rain is already happening. What else is in store? Find out next Friday when Celestalia's Challenge returns. Enjoy your week!

 

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PART CLXXIV. Where Someone Else Abuses RNG More

Spoiler: PART CLXXIV. Where Someone Else Abuses RNG More

Celestalia began her day by sailing to Victoria Island to sell equips. Upon going there, an announcement came out that someone was streaming their Gachapon run (of hundreds of tickets!) in Ellinia.

So she had to go and watch it in person.


Well, it took a lot longer than you'd think. Of course, inventory space is limited.

However, Shoulder did get a Chaos Scroll out of all of that. Worth the price of admission, I'll say.

The crowd soon grew to a fairly good size.


And then when someone else pulled a Chaos Scroll on Channel 7, most of the crew moved over.

Now with even more pumpkin than Gachapon normally has.

And it wasn't done growing.


So that whole process took nearly an hour and a half, but it was time Celestalia had to kill. And it was gaching fun too! Other highlights, a Max WA Stonetooth Sword, a Glove ATT 30%, an Overall INT 30%, and more INT stuff than anybody could reasonably press the Attack button at.

With that done, Celestalia sold the remainder of her equips and went back to Orbis. She wouldn't start the day's grind until nearly 01:30, because there was also snacks to be had.

The first drop is another one of those fire cube things.


Followed by a Zard...


Actually these swords are really good value. 180k a pop! That's better than the money dagger

And then Celestalia picks up...A THIRD BLAZE CAPSULE! Do Corsairs even carry three at a time?

Well I asked one...and I suppose the answer is not too many.


Celestalia can probably sell these at Nautilus in any case.

So after that, two more Warrior equips which have been seen quite enough times, the usual fare. That streak was then finally broken with a Red China Pants.


The Rangemaiden also passed 900 Elixirs around this time

And the last equip was a second Black Basile Boots.


Not a very abundant day for equips, just five total...well, not everyone has the randomity pulling for them, it seems. That's with Celestalia taking an extra 2% today also. 23 more and Arrow Rain joins the party!

In the next installment, the autumn showers move in. Stay tuned!

 

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PART CLXXV. Celestalia's Weather Forecast

Spoiler: PART CLXXV. Celestalia's Weather Forecast

Good evening, it's 01:30 and it's time to check on the weather.

First, expect some thick patches of numbers and a slight chance for some Black Basile Boots early.


Okay, so I'm not going to continue that gag for the entire post. Not that I really could anyway. Celestalia only picked up like two things before reaching Level 72.

The other was a Maroon Jangoon Shoes.


Big yawn.

I think she picked up more scrolls than equips...

OH WAIT HANG ON A MINUTE! Because at 98% Celestalia got something BRAND NEW, NEVER GOT BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF THE CAMPAIGN.

IT IS!

THE!

RED!

...

...Anakamoon.


Never change, Maple. Never change.

...Alright, that tears it. Now I'm angry.


Rangemaiden, take it away.


Judging from this, I think she'll be just fine at Eos Tower. Right now Arrow Rain is doing 85% damage. The first opponent, Black Ratz, has less HP than the Cellion on the left got hit for...and less than half the Weapon Defense.

Ah, I'm starting to get excited again. After a very long time, it's almost conquest season again. And there are a ton of mobs Celestalia can go after, all the way down into the Omega Sector. Some of them will be interesting, and who knows what the outside sections of the tower will be like. But if Celestalia gets bored with those, the clock tower is always open...as is Korean Folk Town.

Ludus Lake beware. The Celestial Empire is coming back to finish the job!

And this time, a new weapon...bwahahahaha

After offloading the (comparatively scant) equips she had on file, Celestalia sat at just a hair above 55 million. Not a bad sum if you discount the fact that it's taken thirteen months to get there!

But the fanfare soon ended and the Rangemaiden was once again back at the usual inn.

What are these platforms even used for...okay, besides getting to the ladder. The ladder doesn't lead anywhere though! At least in the clocktower those platforms serve a purpose, as a resting spot. Ludibrium, also never change.

Another questionably successful weekend on Celestalia's Challenge is finished. The Pansy Earrings will remain part of the loadout for a fair bit of time to come. But will Power Knockback still have a place? I actually put Arrow Rain on the S key in its place. Trial and error will determine whether both skills can be used effectively in one strategy.

The story continues on Friday. Have an amazing week!

 

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SPECIAL XV. I've Got a Secret

Spoiler: SPECIAL XV. I've Got a Secret

It really doesn't matter who is exploring within its confines; Eos Tower is massive. And while she didn't know about them anyway, Celestalia would be without any kind of teleporting scrolls during her entire sojourn in West Ludibrium.

Instead, what was on Celestalia's mind during this week was a strange dream she had the other night. She stared blankly at the useless ladder in her room, trying to figure out what it meant.


She had been surrounded by a multitude of plastic bricks, in fact she was nearly drowning in them. She was reaching her hand up in a vain attempt to go higher, but there was no answer.

Suddenly, just as she had lost all hope of life, her hand met another! She was jutted out of the sea of bricks and soon found herself at the feet of a strange man in a navy blue robe.

As she looked up, the man said only one word.

"Forty-four."

Celestalia was sweating profusely as she sat up in the stiff foam mattress, desperate for some kind of clarity. She wouldn't truly regain her senses until the following morning.


Here she was still, twirling her Bow of Magical Destruction with her left hand while the number danced in her head. She picked up the bow and tapped the ladder twice, once for each 4.

"Forty-four...forty-four...what?"

She slammed her eyes shut as she felt a headache coming on. It was no use...there was no solving this puzzle until she had a more active mind. That would only come with Friday evening's combat in Eos Tower.

What a weird world it is. Normally an adventurer progresses to harder monsters. Celestalia, who was journeying essentially backwards the entire time, was once again taking a step back. Instead of mouse-to-cat, she was going cat-to-mouse. And she had a feeling that Eos Tower wasn't going to get any more impressive for some time.

How many floors did she have to go through before she felt like she was doing something meaningful again...

"Fifty, at least." But even getting all the way to the 47th Floor was no guarantee that she'd get anything out of the whole debacle.

Or...

"...OH!!!"

Finally it clicked. So, there was a point to this expedition after all.

Was there really a robed man lying in wait on the 44th Floor of Eos Tower? There's only one way to find out.

"I'm coming for you, mystery man." Celestalia leaned her bow against the wall, an audible clack ringing out as it made contact, and went back into her sleeping cube.

 

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PART CLXXVI. Let's Conquest! Eos Edition

Spoiler: PART CLXXVI. Let's Conquest! Eos Edition

The time has at last arrived to get back to what this campaign is about: CARD HUNTING!! It's been far too long. Far, far too long.

But, as usual I have a quick thing to address. So some 140 parts ago, which incidentally was also at a time when Celestalia was playing Christmas music (it's back today ), I made a quick comment that Blue Mushroom may or may not be dealing more damage to Celestalia than they used to. Yesterday, I finally figured out why!

It's a little number called the StandardPDD. What in the world is that? Who knows! But it increases with level, and affects the damage calculation when you take touch damage. The goal is to have your Weapon Defense be at or above this value. Problem is, whenever an archer gets to a multiple of five, they experience a big jump in that value. You're supposed to counteract that with new equips, but, uh, given that this is, well, Celestalia's Challenge...yeah. Celestalia has never even approached the StandardPDD value. Right now it's 206. She has 158 Weapon Defense.

Two weeks after the above entry was posted, Nise came out with a series of formulas highlighting the entire process. I went ahead and did some calculations with it (Excel did most of the work though). So first, I think I have a good idea about the damage range for Black Ratz: 42~48. Second though, it's been one of Celestalia's goals for a long time to avenge Sirbeg's tragic slaying in Showa. Well no, that's not happening either. Not for a while. The cad ends up doing ~double Celestalia's current max HP no matter what way I try to slice it. That number is surprisingly similar to how much he did to Sirbeg. I guess the programmers really nailed the touch damage calculation.

Okay, okay, action time.


First observation: the math works!


Second observation: Celestalia's sniping capabilities are nearly limitless. Eos is going to be even more of a cakewalk than she realized.


Inside the red box is a Level 28 Blue Fairy Top.

Celestalia's first card lands within maybe four or five passes.


Ah, it's good to be back.

Black Ratz #3 (one having been taken in the first outing) was acquired another few passes later, followed by a second Blue Fairy Top and a Level 35 Blue Dragon.

Celestalia then took a small break, came back, and landed the last two cards in quick succession.


As it was now 00:45, a couple minutes were taken to vote, and then she continued down the tower.

Only a few floors passed before she found...egads! SPIDERS!


...which she kills in one hit.

Well, that was a quick first card. Two mobs in.


The second card was nearly as prompt.

You might think Trixter is the weakest mob in Eos Tower, and by stats alone you'd be right. But the strength of their web is quite commendable. They're able to keep an entire metal bat within their confines!


The last three cards took maybe...five minutes? Sounds about right, at least as far as one of the best card drop rates in the game is concerned.


Well that was fun. But the easy part was nearly coming to an end...at the bottom of the 93rd Floor, a portal led to...the outside of the tower? Celestalia at least couldn't see a way down through the interior.

She stepped out briefly and was overwhelmed by a huge swarm of birds and mechanical crafts. So that was, uh, not going to happen until she got herself prepared.

Before heading out there, she Return Scrolled back to Ludibrium to empty her Etc. inventory and take a snack break.

In the next installment, two air forces clash! How long will it take Celestalia to send these fluttery flyers to oblivion? Stay tuned!

 

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PART CLXXVII. An Outside Chance at Progress

Spoiler: PART CLXXVII. An Outside Chance at Progress

The outside of Eos Tower is a beautiful place, and if there weren't so...many...things...flying...around...I'd go here on vacation.

Celestalia probably still could. It's not like either of these guys are very powerful.


So in typical overpowering fashion, the first card is very quick at hand.


And also a Green Pilfer

After updating the card picture, the very first Chirppy she shot at had the second card.

And before anyone knew what hit them, Celestalia had the entire set.


She did not go more than halfway down the map.

Now that's absolutely fantastic...here's the problem: She still needs Helly. That will prove to be an issue I reckon.

Turns out the Chirppy set wasn't a fluke...they also have one of the best card rates in the game. It was raining both cards and arrows in this map. Who knew!

Not so, however, for their mechanical neighbors. What makes it worse is that 1. There's not a lot of them, 2. They go up and down everywhere which means Celestalia has a hard time reaching them with regular arrow, and 3. Celestalia navigating up and down the floor is proving to be a bit tough. Oh, and 4. A bunch of platforms are obscured by guardrails in the forefront...I'm thankful I screwed up Horny Mushroom's set earlier, because it's about to happen a bunch more times. I don't feel bad about ruining the thing.

Well, it doesn't matter, because the Rangemaiden knows a stupid grind when she sees one and exited the Tower very quickly after realizing Helly wasn't going to cooperate. She'll be back when Arrow Rain gets a bit more powerful.

So the good news: thus far, Celestalia has used: one Watermelon, and one Sundae. That's it. Everything else came from Blue Potions and the Relaxer. Yeah, I like Arrow Rain a lot.

Time for Plan B!

Heck yeah, OHKO mania baby!

This map is somewhat more efficient with Arrow Rain, which can hit multiple platforms at the left and right ones which are stacked on top of each other. But no Master Robo spawns on the platforms themselves, only the bottom floor. So it only serves to move things along a bit quicker.

As is the way of things though, Master Robo was still unwilling to grant the Rangemaiden any more cards, even at this late hour.

Celestalia grinded to 20% and decided to call it an evening.

Oookay, so...time for Plan C?

 

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PART CLXXVIII. Plan C: To the Moon!

Spoiler: PART CLXXVIII. Plan C: To the Moon!

Faced with little other choice, Celestalia headed straight for Korean Folk Town to (hopefully) mow down a few tougher opponents, but ones that had actual decent spawn rates.


She was really, really bored, but at least it felt like she was making some sort of progress.

At least Arrow Blow was enthusiastic. New Top Hit of 3330.

Well that was until a few short minutes later when she discovered that Arrow Rain does really well on the hill.


Best skill in Celestalia's arsenal. Bar none.


The second card dropped a scant few minutes later.

Celestalia was in a lot of pain by being smacked repeatedly with all of those gongi, but actually getting cards was more than worth the trouble.

Maybe partly because of that, or maybe because of just how it dropped, Celestalia didn't even get a chance to photograph the third card. How dare it!

Well the rest of the card set didn't take too long. The entire thing was about 50 minutes.


Okay cool! Now there are two ways to go. Both ways feature the same enemy, which are these tigers.


Now this map is interesting because there is also a single 'Hogul', this guy:


However this upper platform (the same one the Hodori above is on) doesn't quite touch the bottom floor. So...if Celestalia foregoes using the resting platforms above it, she can go to the next map after Hodori is finished. Actually, she'll try not to engage the Hogul at all.

The first two cards landed back-to-back!


They were to be the last ones of the evening

And soon enough the first equip of the night drops...an old friend.


I don't trust Hodori to have anything decent. Hogul...might? Earrings maybe...dunno.

Update on the Hogul by the way, a Page who kept passing through took it out...and it hasn't respawned for a while. I wonder where it might have popped off to?

I type that and immediately after it comes back. But I feel now that there's even less of a reason Celestalia can't pass through, at least to the far-right portal.

Very quickly though things started getting a bit out of hand. Celestalia had been healing with White Potions pretty much exclusively, since she had a lot of them saved up from Eos Tower. They ran out, but despite this she was still reaching into that pocket for health. So basically, she was about half a second or so from oblivion. She realized her error just in time to grab an Ice Cream Pop instead.

Combined with the fact that she wasn't getting any more cards at the moment, she figured it was about as good a time as any to return home. Still though, four card sets in a weekend ain't bad! At that rate, the Rangemaiden will have the fourth Monster Book Ring by the first week of December. I like those odds!

That unfortunately is the end of this weekend's outing. More action in Korean Folk Town coming on Page 12! Until next time, have a great week!