S2E5: That Wise Woman, Again

We eight begin traveling eastward, plowing through the snowy fields and suppressing random monster encounters that get in our way.

And along the trek, we all have a sneak preview of what we can assume to be another fortress belonging to The Movement – judging from the impenetrable barrier that surrounds its entirety.

And at last, we make landfall at the entrance of Sant-Diegol.

The town's architecture, based from what we can see behind the thick fog, is reminiscent of Spanish-influenced Filipino architecture that was prevalent from around the 18th to the 19th centuries.

Juniper has the first word, "Another town to be saved."

Jurina follows up, "And another boss monster's head to be bashed in."

While we all walk through the misty Cokewood Road, we barely notice a figure who just passed by us.

"¡Quien vive!" (Who's alive!)

I exclaim, "What? That guy spoke Spanish?"

Christian reacts, "And unfortunately, none of us fully know the language."

The figure dashes in with his sword while shouting, "¡Filibustero!" (Filibuster!)

This sudden attack catches us all off-guard.

Bearwin can only say "Whisky Tango Foxtrot?"

Christian catches wind of this.

"How did you know the–"

The sword is about to impale poor little CJ, but the princess knows better than that.

"Proteksyon!"

A barrier envelops us all, bouncing off the otherwise fatal slash.

"¡Hijos y hijas de puta! ¡Muerte a los filibusteros!" (Sons and daughters of b***hes! Death to the filibusters!)

As the figure swears his mouth off in frustration, Juniper quickly identifies the ones who are ambushing us, as they all gather near the figure.

"Dammit! Guardia Civil nincompoops!"

***

[Battle: Guardia Civil x2]

Party: Benoit, Christian, Gershwin, Nolan, Jurina, CJ

Benoit chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

Christian chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

Gershwin chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

Nolan chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

Jurina chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

CJ chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

Benoit attacks Guardia Civil A, dealing it 264 damage.

Christian attacks Guardia Civil A, dealing it 237 damage.

Guardia Civil A is knocked out.

Guardia Civil B performs Objetivo Preciso on Jurina, dealing her 92 damage.

Gershwin attacks Guardia Civil B, dealing it 246 damage.

Nolan attacks Guardia Civil B, dealing it 273 damage.

Guardia Civil B is knocked out.

The counter-terrorists win! That's us.

132 EXP and 173 Double Pesos acquired.

***

Nolan reacts as more of those stragglers spawn, "Those infidels!"

***

[Battle: Guardia Civil x3]

Party: Benoit, Christian, Gershwin, Nolan, Jurina, CJ

Benoit chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

Christian chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

Gershwin chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

Nolan chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

Jurina chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

CJ chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

Benoit attacks Guardia Civil A, dealing it 267 damage.

Christian attacks Guardia Civil A, dealing it 234 damage.

Guardia Civil A is knocked out.

Guardia Civil B attacks CJ, dealing her 184 damage.

Guardia Civil C attacks Jurina, dealing her 163 damage.

Gershwin attacks Guardia Civil B, dealing it 219 damage.

Nolan attacks Guardia Civil B, dealing it 226 damage.

Guardia Civil B is knocked out.

Jurina attacks Guardia Civil C, dealing it 63 damage.

CJ attacks Guardia Civil C, dealing it 64 damage.

Benoit chooses to attack Guardia Civil C.

Christian chooses to attack Guardia Civil C.

Gershwin chooses to attack Guardia Civil C.

Nolan chooses to attack Guardia Civil C.

Jurina chooses to attack Guardia Civil C.

CJ chooses to attack Guardia Civil C.

Benoit attacks Guardia Civil C, dealing it 291 damage.

Guardia Civil C is knocked out.

The counter-terrorists win! That's us.

198 EXP and 260 Double Pesos acquired.

***

Gershwin jokes, "I don't mind summoning a certain cow superhero just to decode their Spanish..."

Jurina tells him off, "Please get serious."

***

[Battle: Guardia Civil x4]

Party: Benoit, Christian, Gershwin, Nolan, Jurina, CJ

Benoit chooses to defend.

Christian chooses to attack Guardia Civil A.

Gershwin chooses to defend.

Nolan chooses to defend.

Jurina chooses to defend.

CJ chooses to summon Tarabusaw as her Innate Skill on all targets.

Christian attacks Guardia Civil A, dealing it 263 damage.

CJ summons Tarabusaw.

"O scion of the earth, tremble with the rumblings of justice! Underground Voice!"

Her Innate Skill deals an average of 718 damage on all targets.

All enemies are knocked out.

The counter-terrorists win! That's us.

264 EXP and 346 Double Pesos acquired.

***

"Darn it! We're losing our stamina!"

I air my disappointment as the spawning seems to never end.

Bearwin shares my sentiment, "And those Spanish-speaking bum-suckers never deplete!"

Christian resigns, "At any rate, we will be finished..."

"¡Hola, amigos y amigas!" (Hello, friends!)

Not until a mysterious woman makes her presence known and kills all the Guardias Civiles with ease.

The big guy quickly identifies her, "Portocarrero?"

The mysterious woman quickly introduces herself.

"Portocarrero. Rosalind Portocarrero. Your Ishi-shiro buddy."

"I'm so elated to meet you again."

"The same goes for me, Hermano Rhames. And who are those people?"

"They are my, uh... how do I say this?"

She just glances at the party, and the metaphorical light bulb pops over her head.

"Wait... my classmates?"

Once she quickly recalls who we all are, she drops her otherwise serious persona.

"Congratulations! We have met again!"

***

Rosalind Portocarrero. Age: 17.

As one can guess from her surname, she has Latino blood flowing in her veins.

She's also known as the consistent honor student in our class, always clinching the number one spot in the honor roll.

It's no secret that her diligence is the key to achieving consistent first place spots.

And no matter what the rest of us do to get to that highest rank, even emulating her diligence outright, we sadly can never dethrone her.

One time, I asked her for some help on sketching orthographic drawings as part of geometry class.

I admit I'm not much of an artist myself, but I admit I'm quite capable at math.

She readily answered, "Sure. I'm inviting you to my house right after class."

Alright! That got me so excited.

"But don't think we'll do something other than studying, OK?"

Yeah, I know.

Thirty minutes after classes ended, I entered Rosalind's house.

It was quite spacious, if I recall.

She then divulged the truth behind her invitation.

"Benoit, the real reason why I invited you here is that... you have quite the concentration problem. I observe that you're not that bad of an artist, and I know you to be as capable in math as I am."

Yes, I indeed had problems concentrating on stuff, even with procedures that would ward off all possible distractions.

She then patted my shoulder as she continued...

"I know I'm the consistent number one, but that doesn't mean I'm leaving the competition in the dust. As much as possible, I want you and the rest of our class to aim as high as me."

I whisper my gratitude, "Thank you."

We then proceeded with the study session.

She helped me in doing orthographic sketches right every step of the way, from studying the object to tracing visible edges to labeling the views.

And I showed her... my opus.

"Wow! Perfect lines throughout!"

"Thanks."

"The way you did it... you might even surpass me!"

"Aw, don't flatter me!"

In the end, she never minds if someday, someone would dethrone her for good in the honor roll's top spot.

Life isn't a competition, anyway.

***

After a brief moment of handshakes, I chime in.

"Yeah, I still remember you, Rosalind, but why's your arm kinda... weird? I've seen this on that anime with that metallic alchemist and that anime where the leading lady is touted as the 'final weapon'."

Rosalind, sensing another group of Guardias Civiles, just answers, "It is a long story, but we have to deal with those meddling guards first!"

***

[Boss Battle: Guardia Civil EX x2 & Guardia Civil x1]

Guardia Civil EX: A "civil guard" with better combat capabilities. Despite looking exactly like the vanilla variant, he's actually more dangerous.

Guardia Civil: Just a run-of-the-mill "civil guard". But his ferocity should never be underestimated.

Guardia Civil EX

Level 30 | HP: 1000 | MP: 100

Guardia Civil

Level 29 | HP: 350 | MP: 50

Party: Benoit, Christian, Gershwin, Nolan, Jurina, CJ

Benoit chooses to use a Hi-Potion on CJ.

Christian chooses to use a Hi-Potion on Jurina.

Gershwin chooses to perform his Innate Skill, Accumulate, on himself.

Nolan chooses to use a Blink Stone on all allies.

Jurina chooses to cast her Innate Skill spell, Yelowa, on Guardia Civil EX A.

CJ chooses to summon Tarabusaw as her Innate Skill on all targets.

Guardia Civil EX A performs Disparos Repetitivos on Benoit, dealing him 10 hits for a total of 182 damage.

Guardia Civil EX B performs Disparos Repetitivos on Christian, dealing him 10 hits for a total of 171 damage.

Benoit uses a Hi-Potion on CJ.

CJ's HP is fully restored.

Benoit uses a Hi-Potion on Jurina.

Jurina's HP is fully restored.

Gershwin performs his Innate Skill, Accumulate, on himself.

Gershwin's attack increased.

Nolan uses a Blink Stone on all allies.

All allies' speed and evasion increased.

Jurina casts her Innate Skill spell, Yelowa, on Guardia Civil EX A, dealing it 632 damage.

CJ summons Tarabusaw.

"O scion of the earth, tremble with the rumblings of justice! Underground Voice!"

Her Innate Skill deals an average of 681 damage on all targets.

Guardia Civil EX A and Guardia Civil are knocked out.

Benoit chooses to defend.

Christian chooses to defend.

Gershwin chooses to attack Guardia Civil EX B.

Nolan chooses to defend.

Jurina chooses to defend.

CJ chooses to defend.

Guardia Civil EX B attacks Nolan, but Nolan dodges the attack!

Gershwin attacks Guardia Civil EX B, dealing it 404 damage. A critical hit!

Guardia Civil EX B is knocked out.

The counter-terrorists win! That's us.

3766 EXP and 3787 Double Pesos acquired.

Benoit leveled up, from Level 26 to Level 27!

Christian leveled up, from Level 26 to Level 27!

Gershwin leveled up, from Level 26 to Level 27!

Nolan leveled up, from Level 26 to Level 27!

Jurina leveled up, from Level 26 to Level 27!

CJ leveled up, from Level 26 to Level 27!

***

The last Guardia Civil yaps before fainting, "¡Idiotas! ¡Todos ustedes deberían morir, no nosotros!" (You fools! You should all die, not us!)

And CJ, still struggling with her health issues vis-à-vis the dancespores, mutters, "We... must... hide..."

Following the princess's directive, we all head inside an abandoned house, which is purportedly Rosalind's hideout.

Jurina interposes, "So, Rosa, please tell me the story behind your weird arm."

Knowing she trusts us all, she begins her story of how she got into Daig'digaia in the first place.

***

One cold November day, I was just checking the email in the comfort of my own home... when the screen suddenly flashed for a moment.

During that flash, I felt something painful in my right arm. I then lost all consciousness.

When I woke up, I expected the worst: My right arm was turned into a huge fountain pen. Also, there were a lot of monsters in the field, and they aimed to kill me.

I thought carefully that I could take out those monsters with that arm.

And eventually, I did it... with barely a scratch.

Minutes later, a man suddenly appeared in front of me.

He said, "Impressive. Use your arm and your brain to survive. From now on, you will be a part of our elite force."

That turn of events led me to what I am now.

***

Nolan segues to an observation, "And I notice that this continent has more traces of dancespores than Dillingtonlandia. What in the heavens is going on?"

Rosalind responds, "What you are about to listen to is a lengthy oral report derived from my intelligence gatherings."

I chatter, "Yeah, yeah. We've heard our fair share of long stories before. It's a lot better than getting all bored."

"Very well. As you all know, while The Movement's operations in Dillingtonlandia were just starting, its operations here in Shurilesia are already grandiose.

"The organization now relies on spying, sabotage, and brutality to effectively spread the dancespores to all areas of concern.

"Just look at what happened to the Theresentien House of Politics and Jaxton School. Those three factors heavily contributed to the invasions."

CJ agonizes, "How sad... subjugating innocents just to get what one wants..."

Gershwin adds up, "We haven't seen those events on TV, but we can feel their effects on our fellowmen."

"Question, comrade," Christian cuts in. "What is the status of our buddies?"

The pen-armed woman confidently answers, "Very well, hermano. I was trying to contact them; but unfortunately, my signal was cut off. That did not happen before; therefore I suspected that something is wrong with HQ.

"And when I went there later, my worst fears have materialized. The HQ now looks spooky. And some evil force has been trying to rip me to shreds every time I try to enter it.

"I was more shocked when I saw the Supreme Leader and the Officer Numero Dos lying unconscious, face down on the snowy grass.

"I broke into tears, but later I realized that crying would not change the situation.

"Desperate to find a solution, I returned here, only to find all of you fighting the Guardias Civiles."

Nolan consoles her, "Pain and suffering are a part of life. We cannot escape from it, no matter what we do."

Rosalind fights back her tears.

"Let us continue. That incident has led me to believe that there is a coup going on, and the one orchestrating all of this is none other than... Lieutenant Senior Grade Antoninus Treillane."

Christian interjects, "WHAT?! One of us is really a spy for the enemy?!"

"Absolutely correct. I have suspected his movements and speech patterns ever since his televised declaration.

"Although he is a spy, I can still distinguish a true friend from a true foe.

"Right as we speak, he is trying to bomb the towns in this continent to trick the people into distrusting the Supreme Leader – which is a by-the-book case of a false-flag operation.

"Plus, he instructed a Movement associate to mess up the political debate, and therefore mess up the forthcoming elections, so that he can rule Shurilesia via a military junta.

"You can conclude that Lt. Treillane is not just a puppet installed by the Movement, but also a dog loyal to his master."

Bearwin cajoles, "The champorado thickens."

Juniper quips "It's the plot, stupid!" as he smacks his prank partner.

Rosalind finalizes, "I have imparted my knowledge to you all, so..."

Christian immediately comes up with a game plan.

"We must all save the Supreme Leader and the Ishi-shiro from total disgrace. Let us all go to HQ. But be careful in facing him, Mr. Valmonte."

The rest of us, while standing at attention, all salute him as we all confidently state, "Sir, yes, sir!"

The big guy commends, "You all did not forget your Citizens Army Training lessons, eh?"

As our next moves are set in stone, we all bid farewell to Sant-Diegol for now.

Next destination: The Ishi-shiro HQ.