Alright, character creation. I dumped 20 points into Dex, 10 into Str/Will and then went from left to right, adding points one at a time. 50 doesn't divide neatly into 4 stats after all.
We're getting some extra evasion from our Dex and traits but I doubt that'll offset our poor HP. At least we'll have decent damage.
I got the feeling this was meant to be a Fire Emblem reference but this was the first thing that came to mind when recording.
Anyway, fuck the cops, we're gonna beat the shit out of evil
Since we picked the Vigilante stuff, we're obviously controlling dark, broody and punchy over here.
Our mid battle chat's a little different.
: You've forgiven the wicked to satisfy your own morals and kindness, but you have also exposed the innocent to the risk of harm once again! I did not wish to be your enemy, but if you insist on standing in the way of my path, I can only eliminate you as well.
Yo, I set up some actual portraits. These are 100px by 100px instead of 160px by 160px. Had to change up my workflow since some of my tools stopped working and I figured I'd try my hand at some smaller mugs too.
: In the past few years, the masters in the Hall has repeatedly proposed to stop your absurd behaviour, but I always hoped that you can realize it yourself and stop the killing. ...Now it seems that you will not turn back.
: Humph! My conscience is clear, there is no need to turn back!
The chat favors our ideology a little more now though I wonder if the choice could've been pushed off until after this opening battle.
Anyway, fight continues on as normal and right after the fight, we get this.
Game: This showdown between the masters will determine the future of Chivalry Hall, yet neither side seems to have the upper hand. As a witness to this duel, I can't help but think back to the chance encounter that set me on my path to enter the Hall. The Automaton factory that night was the beginning of everything...
: Don't talk nonsense, Ah Bao! Elder Sister Fir! Hurry up and wake up!
: Where are we?
: Probably the lair of those Automatons? After you were knocked out, we were carried here in cloth bags. I just saw their evil leader, she is so creepy!
: ...Wahhh... The female monster will eat us... Chew us to pieces... And then we'll be digested... Wahhh...
???: Ai-you, what kind of disrespectful child has the nerve to say those things about me?
We're running the angriest MC portrait, I gotta pick the angry options.
: Hmph, Demoness, Your name!
Bravery is a stat from a set of stats that'll come up later, it comes bundled with Resolve, Restraint and Courtesy.
: My children went to the mine and caught thse two imps, what's that go to do with you? If you want to get in my way, you should take a look at yourself first. Getting knocked out in one hit? Playing hero will just get you killed.
: ...Hmm?
The puppet explodes and then collapses to it's knees.
: ...Hehe, I didn't that this early warning device would ever be activated. It seems that someone came to rescue you. Being able to get here without any prior notice, your rescuers are much smarter than you.
Fun stuff.
: Haha, don't disappoint me.
: ...Using us as bait? Delay the intruders? What is the old lady talking about?
The door just swung out and opened.
: Let me look around first.
We get to move around a little. We're stuck in a room with a lot of different things and we've got to figure out a way out.
We found some oil on the workbench and we found some cash underneath the bed behind us.
Our creepy puppet lady's got some less than pleasant stuff lying around, but we don't need it.
The cell next to us is jammed but we loosen up the hinges with the oil.
\
Inside the cell, we find some very unsubtle poetry hidden away on the bed...
...and the treasure they hid away. This'll be useful later.
Unsurprisingly, the actual solution to this puzzle room was that the handle next to the door opened it. It's still the opening of the game so the puzzles are simple enough.
Two different doors slide open and we're able to get out of the dungeons.
There's, hmm, a lot of puppets? They're working hard at something.
: Wahh... We are going to die here.
: Elder Sister Fir! Look over there!
Looks like someone competent finally found us.
: Yes, I understand!
: Huh...? This... This woman is...?
: ...
: Such a smart man, how unfortunate you're just as stubborn as a woodblock.
: ...I didn't come here for you to judge me. If you still have any trace of dignity, just kill yourself now! Don't force me to get my hands dirty.
: Haha... You really want to watch me die... So you can remember me all your life? Fine, come on up. But... What about them?
: Woah! No, stay back!
And they're coming right at us.
: Humph...
: Haha... you finally noticed it? That arrogance, as always causes more trouble... I've made improvements to the control structure in this group of "unrefined puppets", even you can't interfere with them from the outside.
Looks like we've gotten tangled up in some old fight.
: Come on, Renxin, didn't you want to come up to me? Better hurry up or I'll slip away again...
That is a distinctly more advanced and unfriendly looking puppet than the other ones.
: Hong'er, I'll leave these for you to deal with.
: Yes!
Time for our first fight.
: Uh... ok!
Game: The meaning of Xia is to fearlessly stand up and protect the innocents from harm!
We've got our goal for this fight. We've got to get these two kids out and then destroy the puppets. Fights can have a decent range of win conditions but most of them are "beat up the enemies, don't die".
Both of these kids are weaker than us for pretty obvious reasons and one of the kids is pretty much frozen up in fear.
The AI isn't going to chase them down which is good for us since we're weak as hell. The enemy puppets have around 220 HP.
Luckily enough, you can just... kind of stand there. Move the kids out of the fight and to the escape point, let Hong fight the puppets for you.
She'll be fine.
She's got actual stats including nearly 3x as much hp as we have and actual offences.
Once you get one of the brothers to the escape point, the other one will run to him.
: Um... Big, brother, wait for me! Elder Sister Fir, big sister... you, be careful!
: I won't fall easily!
Picking this option gave us 3 Will and unlocked something a little special...
This is our special protagonist bullshit. We get a special skill that lets us choose an element every 4 turns in battle and gives us a bonus depending on what element we switch to. I'll talk more about this later when we can actually put it to good use. Because well...
While we were off making sure the kids got out okay, Hong was busy killing all the puppets.
But hey, we got one punch in at least.
: *Sob*
: Ah Bao don't cry, we are saved! Thank you, two heroes! I, Wang Ah Cai will definitely repay you one day!
: You are safe and sound, that's the most important thing. And no need to say thanks. Wait for a while and go home, your family is quite worried.
: This Lady, didn't you hurt?
I may remove some weird spaces but I'm not rewriting this to account for bad lines.
: Chivalry Hall?! Is it the martial arts academy regardless of origin?
: Exactly, did little brother Wang have heard of it?
: Haha, a hundred years ago, the ancestor Master Dongfang determined to break the portal disagreement and unite the strength of the various factions for the people to achieve chivalrousness. So the master and disciple in the Chivalry Hall are all regardless of the origins. There is no distinction of sects or clans in the Hall, everyone can learn the martial arts, in order to cultivate more young heroes who have the right mind and srurdy martial arts.
Man, lot of mistakes in there. I'm not sure what the portal disagreement is meant to be but you can sum this up as Master Dongfang getting sick of martial art sects being too self absorbed and stuck on sect politics, so he set up his own sect to be free of it all.
: It must be providence! Elder Sister Fir, as long as you go to the Chivalry Hall to learn martial arts, we don't have to be afraid of those monsters!
: I have no sect, no clan.
: Ah... so you made it all by yourself? But... just now...
I think the assumption here is that we actually used the element changing move. But we didn't so this scene's a little weird but I'll let it slide.
: That's just some stupid kick and a punch.
I've spoken with the translators before and apparently they don't have separate lines for female/male MC's in the Chinese text. So you'll see a lot of errors like this while they try to figure out how to do that sort of split.
: Arbitrary conversion of Elemental Affinity? Master, can this really be done?
: Well... there's a lot you don't know. This foolish Little Girl probably doesn't even know what an Elemental Affinity is, and having such a powerful ability is nothing but just burning the zither to cook the crane, a totally waste of talent.
That's a new idiom for me. A zither is a type of Chinese instrument. Not really sure how to explain this but I guess you could just say he thinks it's a waste?
: Few people are able to change their own Elemental Affinity like Lady, this is also the first time I have seen it with my own eyes.
: Hmph... is it necessary for you to talk so much?
: Master, Lady Fir don't understand but if we told Lady Fir these, then it wouldn't be a waste of talent, would it?
: Even if you understand it, you won't change the fact that your martial arts is poor. The footsteps are vain, and the punches are exhausted. Clearly, you are a Little Girl from the countryside and no nothing about martial arts.
: Humph! Don't underestimate Elder Sister Fir! Two years ago, the mining village where Elder Sister Fir was persecuted by those wooden monsters, families was destroyed. They had to come and seek refuge to our Chongyan Village. No one ever expected they would come again! From time to time, the village's mine pits were attacked, people got killed, and the villagers were unable to survive. But Elder Sister Fir has never been afraid of them! Always try to fight against them and protect the village!
: I see... Lady Fir, I didn't expect that you are beared such a past....
: Ah Bao is right! Elder Sister Fir will definitely be better than you after learned martial arts!
: I want to join the Chivalry Hall and learn martial arts!
No clue what happens if you pick the other option.
: Hum... nothing come of talking about it, if you just don't practice, you won't achieve anything. If you are really determined to cultivate hard, prove it to me by your actions. Little Girl, take this.
: Ah! Chivalry Badge! Lady, congratulations!
We get a little pop up telling us we got a badge. Unfortunately, it comes and goes quick enough it's hard to catch...
: You don't have to worry about the Chongyan Village. If you want to give it a try, go to the suburbs of Nanchang City, lakeside of the Poyang Lake after seven days, to find a fisherman carrying a nine-foot iron paddle, and show him the badge. It's your business if you want to come or not. If you can't suffer, if you're afraid of failure, or if you're willing to spend your life in mediocrity... It would be a waste of time to come here, no need to make the trip.
: Master Mu and I will return to the Hall to report the matters of Chongyan Village. And the Hall Master will certainly take appropriate measures.
: Huh, with the style of him, I think he would send disciple to patrol regularly. To deal with a few broken couples, they should be able to nail that.
: Really... Really! Thank you Sister Duan! Thank you Master Mu!
: ...
: Your sickening greed... really hasn't changed at all. Hong'er, there's nothing to see here. Let's go.
: Yes! Take care, you two little brothers. Lady Fir, I hope to see you in the Chivalry Hall at that time. See you soon.
: Three little kids, if you don't want to be trapped here, get out quickly. I'm going to burn this place down.
Hong leaves after that.
: Elder Sister Fir, go for it! And when I grow up, I will go to Chivalry Hall to learn martial arts and be your junior fellow apprentice!
: Elder Sister Go for it, you can be a chivalrous hero for sure!
A vigilante's still chivalrous, right?
Alright, we get control again for a bit. We walk up the path, talk to someone who just reminds us of what we were here for and we find some more spare change.
We've got a few things to deal with before we leave for the sect.
This chef and the old man are offering us some free food since we're off to become heroes. Top one gives us an extra point of Vitality, middle one probably gives a point of Strength? I picked the top one because I thought it was the strength one for some reason.
Oh well, it's fine. We find the local beggar and...
Beggar: King Lady... Please help me... I used to be from a distinguished family, but other's conspired against me, my family has broken apart... Please give me some money, so that I may feed myself... I used to be the guard of Nanchang City, but I've gotten on the wrong side of someone powerful and suffered all sorts of abuse from him...
We get the option of giving him 50 coins, the blue jade or leaving him. The blue jade is important for something else later so we give him 50 coins. We had 191 before this from spare change so it's no real loss.
Beggar: Haha, little Lady has a good heart, I have nothing to give in return. Here, take this Small Wooden Sword... If we meet again in the future, I will be relying on your help... Haha...
There was a kid back on the path here that was complaining about getting scammed out of a sword by the beggar. We pop on back to give the sword to him.
We give him the sword back.
Boy: Wow! Big sister, you are so strong, You actually got it back for me! Thank you, big sister, this is for you! Doctor Sun gave me this ointment when I fell down and got injured, but I forgot to use it. Since I no longer need it, I will give it to you as a thanks!
...I'm not sure I like the implication that he thinks we beat up the beggar for his sword. Anyway, the medicine he gave us is an elixir that heals 500 HP when used. Considering that we only have like 100 HP, it'll be a good item for quite a while.
We also run into a poet and his hapless assistant over here. The poet offers us a riddle to find something for him.
We found this by the pier but it's not what he's looking for.
The divider mentioned in the poem is fairly obviously the pier that bisects the shore. 10 steps back from it, we find this pop up and we get a paperweight.
We return the paperweight to him and he offers to do some calligraphy for us.
We get the option of two scripts and I go with the Bold Wild Script since well, that fits our alignment better. We gain some calligraphy which we can gift later to others and a point of Dex from watching him do his art.
I believe we're done with everything here for now so we go to meet up with the fellow taking us to Chivalry Hall.
This game has at least two different artists. You can tell by how different this person's art is to basically everyone we've met so far. Might be a third too.
: You guys always have that eager look on the face, I can spot a fearless young cub like you in any place! How's this old man's rhyming skill? Hahaha!
: What kind of martial arts does Lady practice? What kind of weapon are you good with? Blade? Spear? Or maybe you prefer your fists over weapons? Ah! I got it! Looking at your exceptional aura, you must be skilled with the sword!
Someone's excited (and probably a swordsman).
: It was like that when he met me earlier, he goes straight to martial arts without even introducing himself.
: I am Fir Tree, nice to meet you.
We get some Courtesy from this.
: So you are Elder Sister Fir, nice to meet you!
: Alright, alright, there are plenty of times to make friends in the future! Hand over your Chivalry Badge, and we will be on our way!
We hand it over.
: Elder Tang, is everyone here?
: That ain't the old man's business, it's getting late so we can't wait any longer. Do you think it is easy to get to Chivalry Hall? Without me leading you on, it will take you more than three days to get there!
: This big brother... is he also here to join Chivalry Hall?
: Oh! Another sectmate? Nice to meet you!
: He doesn't even speak...
: It seems he wants us to be quiet, so that we don't scare the scorpions.
: Huh... Scorpion?
Relax, there are no scorpion pics coming up soon. If we do, I'll probably drop it behind spoilers for those afraid of scorpions.
: Did you just catch it? Or was it brought from home?
: ...
: So Mount Lu is inhabited by special scorpions, that is the first time I heard about it!
: ...
: What stunning compatibility.
: Oh? Good, good, one more kid to pick up!
: ...
Don't worry, he'll talk someday.
: You are the last batch of new disciples this year, let's get going quickly!
Game: Disembarking and walking on foot, the Lushan Mountain Road is surrounded by mist, twist and turns. Following another half day's travel, the path before you finally opened up.
: Here we are! This is Chivalry Hall!
: Awe-inspiring and majestic upon Mount Lu... Exactly as dad said!
: ...
: This old man will take his leave here. Go on in! the exciting part is coming up!
: Mr. Tang, thank you very much.
: Thanks! it's past noon, the entrance ceremony is about to start, go on!
: Entrance ceremony... Hu... I am getting nervous...
: Huh? Nervous? All I feel is excitement! Hall Master Chu Tianbi is a renowned swordmaster in Jianghu. I can't wait to get a good look at his peerless swordsmanship. Thank you, Elder Tang! Let's go!
Jianghu is basically China. Sometimes the distinction is drawn between the rest of China and the martial artists and when that happens, Jianghu is where all the martial artists are. If I'm wrong on that, feel free to correct me thread.
: Huh? Brother Nan, wait for us!
: ...
: Ok? Aren't you going to follow them? Little Girl that came from who knows where. The way you move indicates that you have no prior foundation in martial arts, yet you still have the courage to join Chivalry Hall. This old man respects your guts, but Chivalry Hall has no room for slackers. If you want to stay, you better clench your teeth and give it your all!
: Why don't you come along to have a look as well?
: Hahaha, this old man has seen more entrance ceremonies than he can count! Now I just want to get back to my fishing hut and take a good nap! Little Girl go on quickly, you don't want to fall behind on your first day!
With a final gesture of appreciation, we run off for the ceremony.
We'll call it here for now.
: As I stand before you right now. What happened in back then... vividly flash before my eyes.
: Can't you see your ridiculous ideals already broke Chivalry Hall apart?
