At level 10 I was ready to open up much of the rest of the world for exploration. It was a time of great riches. It was a time of great fear. None of the monsters of the local land or on the sea could touch me. I headed to Matoya's Cave to trade her Crystal Eye for some Herb. Matoya is a lovely lady with skulls thrown here and there for just the right touch of interior decor. I ran into a two Ogre group just outside her... door? Cave hole? Yeah. Two of my BB could easily take them out. The least damage they did was 50, with an average of 75 and a critical hit that turned them into Ogre goo. Sometimes a single attack that wasn't critical would kill them. Then we sailed back to Elfland to get the prince his fix. He gave us the Mystic Key for it which I used to steal his treasures. My WM now had a Silver Hammer. Next I sailed to Castle Coneria to steal their treasures. Among them was some TNT. Lali-Ho! It was time to sail to the Dwarven Village because everybody knows dwarves always need TNT. It turns out a dwarf named Nerrick needed some to blow up a wall and flood everything! Well, not everything, but a canal that he dug single-handedly with a spoon. There was also a blacksmith who said he would make me a legendary sword if we found some Adamant because we were the Light Warriors! I hope it's not an ordinary sword of legend. Then we stole all their treasure. Now it was time to sail back into elf country. I couldn't decide if I wanted to loot Astos' abandoned castle or go back into the Marsh Cave first, but decided on the castle. There were some worrisome fights coming up. The Images guarding the first chest did damage in the 30s, but they died pretty easily. Then came the Mummies. They were doing an average of 40 damage and it took two BB to unravel without critical hits. The Power Staff in the last chest does the same amount of damage as the Silver Hammer but it hits 2% less so it always gets sold for the ton of cash it's worth. With that out of the way I decided I was brave enough to hit up the Cobras and Wizards guarding the Marsh Cave treasures without going to the inn first, so off I went. It was tough but I made it. I ran into a couple of triple Gargoyle fights down there and they weren't too bad now. Cobras could be killed two per turn. Wizards still hit for massive damage and were to be avoided at all costs. At one chest they couldn't be avoided but there were only two of them so it was alright. I gave the Silver Bracelet I found to the WM and then got the heck out of there. I finally had to use some of them Heal potions on the way out. By the time I reached Elfland I only needed 42 EXP to level so, I did.
At level 11 it was time to dance in the glory of the rotting earth. I stopped at the inn in Coneria rather than Elfland or Melmond because it is cheaper and sold all the extra stuff I was carrying around, as well as restocked my Heal potions. You can't tell me Melmond isn't a cool name, because it is.
It's Dr Unne
In town I usually blow a ton of cash buying Steel Armor for my Fi and then level as I gain enough gold to buy everything else. This is done by going outside Crescent Lake and fighting Pedes, along with whatever else comes my way. I usually then also buy whatever gear and spells I may need from Crescent Lake. Not this time. I bought my WM Cure3, Harm3, and Life. She already had a Silver Bracelet so there was no real need to buy one. At this point it would have raised my BB absorb by 4 while only dropping evade by 1, but I still chose not to because that would change at the next level up anyway. Right away I headed to the Earth Cave to test my mettle. There was also a new fear, getting stoned. I didn't buy any Soft potions before I left. Cobras were much more frequent here but they were nothing I couldn't handle. Oftentimes I would kill them with one hit. I faced my first Earth elemental on the entry floor, and while they did a lot of damage, I average about 50 per hit and took them out in two turns. It was best to keep your HP really high around treasure chests where you knew they lurked. It took a heavy reliance on Heal potions to do so. I also got to fight GrOgres again! They took two BB and the WM to kill. Not too bad. Just for the fun of it I decided to try myself out against a Giant. They could be killed in one turn using everybody and did damage in the 30s. Bulls have some low defence and I was doing some awesome damage against them. I can't deny having an intimate relationship with this game helped a lot in here. I would of had to explore a lot of dead ends if I didn't have where to go memorized and it would have made a difference in the amount of Heal potions I used. By the time I cleared out the second floor of treasures and started heading to the third where the Vampire and petrify monsters lay in wait I reached level 12.
At level 12 I felt much more comfortable about being here. I didn't know how well I would do against the Lich, but wasn't too concerned with the average random monsters. Earth Elementals were less of a threat too. At this level the average HP of my team was 200. In the first treasure room I got into a fight with three Specters and four Geists. Upon seeing this I immediately blurted out swear words in Korean, something I haven't done in years. Strange. I don't even know more than four Korean words. The fight wasn't as hard as I apparently expected it to be. Once again there were Mummies around but they were easy. Just before the last chest I killed a GrOgre with a single critical hit! I healed everybody up completely before fighting the Vampire. I don't know why, he's a wussy.
I power my fists with orange juice bitch!
Then I got the Ruby and left the Earth Cave in search of a big Rod. On the way out I ran into four Wizards and got scared less, but they were only doing half the damage from last time we fought so everything turned out okay. Once outside I went to the inn in search of warm food and sexy women but I ended up getting cold potatos and hairy truckdrivers. Did you know Melmond does not have an item shop? I did not remember that! I was down to 23 Heal Potions but instead of restocking I decided I would wait. Then, much to my surprise, I gained a level. These kinds of things usually don't sneak up on me!
At level 13 I went in Search of Sarda and his big Rod in Sarda's Cave to the West of Melmond. Melmond First I had to get through another cave. There was a big smelly ogre in the way but I gave him the Ruby to get out of the way. It was shiny so he ate it.
Close your mouth when you chew, jerk!
There was treasure in his cave so I stole it. Just South to the outside of that cave was Sarda's Cave. He gave me his rod, then I went back to the Earth Cave after restocking on Heal potions. Once inside, GrOgres were dropping like flies with all the critical hits I was making. So were Cobras. I worked my away around to the plate, the plate you sense something evil underneath, and then SMASHED IT WITH MY ROD! It was exciting. Down here Trolls were very dangerous. The Sphynx in the treasure room was hard but doable with everyone at full HP. I took the first WzOgre out with a critical hit and the second one with two BB. Hyenas were a BB with WM combo. The next treasure room was much of the same. I leveled up before reaching the stairs to the last floor.
At level 14 I was one floor away and a short walk from the Earth Fiend in the Earth Cave. Unless Lich casted Nuke, which he or she sometimes does, I was pretty sure I could win. I have no idea if Lich is a girl or some dude with earrings. I healed everybody up with Heal potions, leaving my WM with 3 Cure3s and a Cure2, then talked to the red ball thingy.
Guy, girl, or sexy little dead thing?
Lich went down in turn five without a single nuke cast! I used the heal spell instead of the Cure2, but that was it. Then I revived the power of the Orb and teleported outside. Now, I update this here, with killing Lich just past a level up.