Muster Heroes – QuickSave 6

Battle at the Loot Shell! Chants of the hidden devils

“I always do my best to put some personality in each of Muster Heroes' NPCs. Though I must say, being a fan of a good old recurring character gimmick, you'll see that many optional bosses will come back, stronger than last time you fought 'em. Now, some of you might think it's a lazy way to recycle enemies, but don't you worry. Lionel would kill me if I didn't make any efforts to put some diversity in every battle pattern. Speakin' of which, if diversity was some kind of skirt, well let me tell ya, he'd wear it proudly everyday and force us all to do the same!”

Mark Dereen, Lead Programmer of Project: Muster Heroes

“Good news,” Mettrick announced after exiting his menu. “Exceed's gang found some info as well, and they're gonna fight a boss.”

“They're fighting a boss too?” Kamikaz exclaimed. “Then let's hurry, or they'll beat us!”

“Since when did this become a competition?” Yatsu intervened, turning back towards the tomboy.

“Since I just heard about them fightin' a boss. You keep staring at the Shell, Maskreep!”

“...Why would I? It's just a giant treasure chest shaped like a sea shell.”

“Definitely is!” Fulguro said, standing right next to the door.

“Yeah, but it could also be a sea shell shaped like a treasure chest! Don't look away from that thing 'til you've figured out which one it is!”

Yatsu sighed, shaking his head. “Well, that's stupid. I really wouldn't like having you as a team captain.”

“Nah, I wouldn't like that anyway. That's Lil' Met's job.”

“And speaking of him,” Mettrick interrupted, “That Lil' Met wants you all to enter the giant shell and fight the boss inside! Heard that, Kaz? Move it!”

“Aye, captain!!” the latter screamed, raising her fist in the air. “And since I have to enter and secure the field ahead, we'll definitely need you to come and get a closer look at our enemies, so-o-o-o-o… YOINK!” without warning, she grabbed the boy's arm and sprinted with all her might towards the Loot Shell's door before leaping inside, with Mettrick screaming a loud “Stop it!” right behind her. Fulguro watched the scene with an amused gaze while Yatsu chuckled, following the peculiar duo into the chest-shaped building. Fulguro frowned, glancing at J “You're coming, right?” he asked.

“You don't need to tell me.” J immediately replied.

Fulguro raised an eyebrow. Now that he really looked at her, he realized that the mask-like helmet she wore wasn't covering the bottom part of her face. “Sorry to ask, but... What's your problem, exactly?”

“Like I said,” J continued, walking through the door. “I don't like people.”

"Oh... Right." Fulguro sighed and followed his comrades inside of the Loot Shell. To his surprise, the place appeared much bigger on the inside that it was on the outside. Wherever he looked, all Fulguro could see was enormous amounts of various items gathered into house-sized piles, making it impossible to see past them as long as one wasn't on top of one of them. Several NPCs were battling here and there, with some of them falling down the mountains of loot while others filled their pockets with random objects.

“Ooooh!” Kamikaz exclaimed excitedly. “This is my place! This place was made for me! People to beat up! Mountains to climb! Loot to steal! MORE people to beat up! Can I scout ahead, Lil' Met? Please, I beg you, can I scout ahead?”

“Oh, 'cause you actually believe you're in any position to beg for anything after what you just did?! I almost hit my head because of you!”

“But you have a helmet!”

“Not the point!" Can't you stop pulling pranks for just two seconds?!”

“I can! I just stopped! And we need to find the boss, right? If you send me away, you won't have to deal with any of my pranks for a while!”

Mettrick let out a sigh. “...Fine. You did take the pack of free six Max Turtle bottles Vick gave us before we left, right?”

“Well he gave us six each as a thanks for helpin' him beating those pirates, so yeah. That sounds way too generous, too.”

“They'll probably be expensive when we actually buy some, so who cares.”

“Right. So, um...”

“Yes, you can go ahead and explore the loot piles. If you find Bygorn, contact us immediately.”

Kamikaz let out an excited squeal before hugging her companion. "You're an angel!"

"And you're a devil."

Kamikaz turned to Yatsu, a radiant smile on the face. “Hey, Maskreep, you comin'?”

“Me?!” the latter replied. “Why would I follow you anywhere?”

“Because you wanna help Lil' Met's future strategy and defeat the boss, obviously. C'mon, it's time for a killing spree!” With that said, Kamikaz summoned her trident and ran at full speed towards a pile of weapons, thrusting her own left and right to dispose of her enemies. Yatsu pulled out his book and followed her as fast as he could.

“Okay!" Mettrick exclaimed. "Now that they're gone, the three of us are–”

“I'm contacting you if I find Bygorn. Bye.”

Mettrick didn't even have the time to register J's intervention that the fox warrior was already gone, rushing towards another loot piles, leaving the boy alone with Fulguro. The latter looked at his friend, slightly surprised. “Well,” he said, shrugging. “Looks like it's you and me, Lil' Met.”

“Don't you dare call me that ever again!” Mettrick replied sharply, tightening his grip on his giant pickaxe. “Kaz is the only living being allowed to use that name!”

“Huh. Why's that?”

“Mostly because she's not going to stop even if I ask to. The rest you don't need to know. Let's move.”

They walked in silence for a couple of seconds, uncertain as to which loot pile they should climb on first. “Is it just me or you've become really grumpy ever since Kaz recognized you at the Saloon Brawl?” Fulguro couldn't help but ask.

“Would you be happy to meet the same person who repeatedly humiliated you during one year again?" Mettrick said. "Then have that person stuck in your class for at least one more?”

“Okay, you have a point. But she really doesn't seem that bad of a person. I mean, she's kinda… uhh… energetic, to say the least, but so far so good.”

Mettrick looked at Fulguro. “You don't know her.” he said gravely. “To her, bullying and showing affection are two sides of a same coin. And she has an army of coins like that in her brain. She didn't realize she was bullying me until I shouted it to her face at the end of the year.”

"You waited the end of the year to tell her how bad she was treating you? Bad strategy.”

“I didn't know she was that blind. Heck, I didn't even know she was a girl until… until...” Mettrick abruptly stopped, as if struck by lightening. “...Until...” he seemed absent, unable to focus on anything but whatever his memory had brought back from the depth of his mind.

“Mettrick?” Fulguro called. “Mettrick? Is something wrong?”

The boy took a deep breath and sighed once more, a sudden weariness painted on the face. “No, nothing's wrong.” he replied slowly. “We'll… We'll talk about this later, okay, let's just… let's just go back to beating up NPCs. Please.”

“Oh. Sure, I don't mind. Give a shout whenever you want to talk again, okay? I'm a really good shoulder to cry on, or so I've been told.” Fulguro concluded in a joking tone.

Mettrick slowly nodded, lost in thought.

The two players noticed a group of eight bandits locked in a furious brawl. With little effort, they managed to fend them all off, taking item drops and experience points as they advanced. They quickly climbed up the small pile of loot and scanned the area. Roaming bandits and loot piles was all they could see, and the environment seemed to expand itself endlessly. Food, weapons, clothes, everything was scattered everywhere; and upon accessing their menus, the two boys realized that most of the items had the same, poor value, which was certainly not interesting enough to trade for their current unique gear they had obtained through Unique Quests.

This place is just a giant pile of junk. Fulguro thought, sighing. “Looks like this place's only good for farming,” he said to Mettrick, closing his menu. “Lots of enemies to beat up, but the items here are all pretty bad.”

“The equipment is bad,” Mettrick corrected, still scanning the place with the help of his menu. “We've got a few little Health and Skill potions thanks to those guys we just defeated, and I'm pretty sure we can find a few of these on other loot piles. That and scattered money. I feel like this place is both a junkyard and a gold mine, if we farm carefully. We'll have to come back here later.”

You have received a Contact Request from another player.

“On Air.” Mettrick answered immediately.

“Found 'im found 'im found 'im!” Kamikaz shouted through the menu. “He's fighting against a group of pirates! And… Wow. He's a kid. Like, I think he's younger than you are, Lil' Met.”

“I don't see why I should care about his age.” the latter replied as he followed Fulguro, who was already running towards Kamikaz's position. “Is he alone?”

“Nope! He's on top of a giant loot pile, with two girls right below him. They're not movin' much, but people around them are dying. On the ground, I see a big crocodile chomping on some pirates. Ah, there's a hen-thingy flying next to the crocodile, too. And… A giant rabbit. Oh gosh, he just turned into... four... five little rabbits!”

“This isn't one of your pranks, right?”

“I… I kinda wish it was actually, 'cause they're kickin' butts right and left. Oh wait, five new pirates just arrived. two of them just died. And I think they're being chased by some kind of fo– OH GOSH NO, J, DON'T GO THERE!!”

Fulguro and Mettrick shared a panicked gaze. “I'm spamming my Phantom Thunder.” he quickly announced. “I've got three SP potions now, and it doesn't cost much SPs to use that Skill, so, I'll be fine. Stay away until you've got a plan for us!”

“Got it! Kaz, if J's in trouble, you and Yatsu go help her! Now!”

“Roger that! You heard the boss, Maskreep!”

Phantom Thunder! Execute!

Fulguro dashed as fast as he could, directing himself towards a mountain of swords, spears and various other weapons. Ignoring the enemies around him, he reached the top in record time and looked around. He quickly located a loot pile much bigger than the others and dashed towards it, using both his Phantom Thunder and his high movement speed at his advantage. Finally, he reached the base of the pile, where a bright green crocodile was indeed biting numerous pirates around him and swinging his tail to those behind him. J had just blocked a hit from the tail, taking little damage. However, a swift turn from the animal's head and she'd take a nasty bite.

Pulse Rush! Execute!

Thanks to the Pulse alloy that composed his CyberTech armor, Fulguro could build up electricity as he ran around, without the use of his Electro-Charge – though the amount of electricity would be less significant by using this method. With that in mind, Fulguro landed a surprise attack on the crocodile, turning into an electric sphere to strike it. The animal unleashed a scream of pain while both J and Fulguro fell back, letting the surrounding pirates attack the wounded crocodile. Fulguro quickly accessed his menu and drank a Skill Points Potion, filling his SP Gauge almost entirely. “You're welcome!” Fulguro shouted at J, infuriated. “And thank you so much for putting everyone in danger by ru–”

J suddenly tackled Fulguro, allowing both of them to narrowly avoid a flurry of eggs thrown by the flying hen above. An acidic liquid covered the zone they were previously standing on.

“Now we're even.” J said, emotionless. “Scold me later. And focus. We have a boss to fight.”

“T-thanks.”

She rose from the ground. Fulguro followed her example and gazed around him. The Crocodile had defeated the last group of pirates, and Kamikaz was busy fighting the rabbit with Yatsu. Meanwhile, the hen was assisting the crocodile by laying eggs around the field or attacking with with of her leg – replaced by a dagger instead of a wooden leg.

Electro-Charge! Execute!

“J, can you focus on the crocodile? That bird's gonna be a pain.”

“What did you say to me? What did you say to me?” the hen suddenly shouted, flying in circles.

J shrugged, pointing her rapier towards the animal. “He's mine anyway.” she gracefully dashed towards it, ready to fight. Fulguro gazed up, looking for the bird. But too late: it had already dived to attack him. Before he could even move, the dagger-leg feature of the avian creature lacerated his armor.

Thunder Shaper! Fist Shape! Execute!

The bird flew out of range, and the discharged fist missed its target. “Come closer, my friend! Come closer, my friend!”

Electro-Charge! Execute!

“You come closer, and I'll fry your feathers!” Fulguro shouted.

Far from obeying him, the bird flew around the field and unleashed a new series of eggs upon the field, poisoning several areas at once. Fulguro managed to avoid the hit, but J was too focused on her fight with the crocodile. She leaped right into one of the acidic zones. 

“J, look out!”

“It's minimal damage." J assured. "Keep your eye on the birdie.”

“That's what she said! That's what she said!”

Fulguro once again turned his head towards the bird – who had taught it that sentence? – wondering how to hit it efficiently.

“Formation: Assault!”

Five little helmets used their tiny legs to speedily come to J's rescue, distracting the crocodile while J used a health potion to recover from her damage.

“Fulguro, listen up!”

Fulguro gazed at Mettrick, who ran in his direction.

“Don't move!" Mettrick ordered. "And on my mark, fire a Thunder Shaper! Got it?”

“I guess you have a plan?”

“Yeah!”

 Fulguro nodded and waited patiently as the bird wrecked havoc on the field. “What kind of hen can repeat stuff like parrots do, anyway?”

“I don't think its species is defined,” Mettrick answered, focused despite the conversation. “That and the people at ThirdEye are probably a bunch of jerks who like to mess with people.”

“Bow before me! Bow before me!” The bird moved towards Fulguro and dived towards him, ready to strike him with its bladed leg.

Force Field! Execute!

Mettrick dashed in front of Fulguro and raised his shield. A giant blue sphere surrounded both boys, protecting them from the bird's impact. “Now!”

Thunder Shaper! Beam Shape!

Fulguro raised his arm and fired a single beam at the bird, which electrified it as it fell on the ground. “Mettrick, finish it!”

“On it!”

Shockwave! Execute!

Flashing his creepy grin, Mettrick delivered a powerful hit on the ground, and an energy wave moved towards the stunned bird, who took it head on.

“What did you do to my socks?! What did you do to my socks?!” was the last thing it shouted before collapsing on the ground, unable to move anymore.

Mettrick and Fulguro: Level Up!

“Booyah!” they screamed in a united voice.

“Guys! We need your help right now!”

Both boys turned towards Yatsu, who was running away along with Kamikaz from an army of ten little rabbits with very sharp-looking fangs.

“Fulguro,” Mettrick asked quickly. “Got any new skill?”

“Checking now!” was the immediate answer. “No new skill per say, but I just unlocked a new shape for Thunder Shaper, for a total of four.”

"Limited shapes?"

"Yeah. I unlock more as I level up."

“Then use that to cover J, while I'll go and help Kaz and Yatsu."

“Got it!” Fulguro looked around and witnessed J evading a bite from the crocodile. Just like last time, she leaped around the animal, knees bent as she moved from the tip of her toes. Looking closer, Fulgyro realized that there was a pattern to her trick: whenever the crocodile attempted an attack, she leaped away, twirled to regain her balance, then rapidly leaped once more before repeating her spinning movement. And each time she was close to his side, she speedily struck it with her rapier while twirling, thus depleting his Health Points slowly but surely.

“J!” Fulguro shouted. “I'm monitoring its HP! When the crocodile's gauge hits the halfway mark, jump, and on my mark, use your skill!”

Electro-Charge! Execute!

With the right timing, he knew they could pull off an interesting combo, depending on her abilities. 

J performed a backward dash and surprised Fulguro, who could see her masked helmet inches away from his face. He took a short step back as the orange eyes painted on her helmet looked at him, almost menacingly. “I can finish it off.” J declared.

“Look - you took a few hits on purpose to analyze his pattern, didn't you? Well, he'll probably change his strategy when he hits the halfway mark. And we have no time to waste with you slowly taking down enemies while the others struggle!”

“There are no stakes yet. I'm just practicing.”

“So am I." Fulguro retorted. "We're a class, right? We'll have to develop combos eventually!"

The crocodile turned around and marched in their direction. J stared at Fulguro, unconcerned. “Sure.” she dashed once again, using her dancing pattern to distract the enraged animal. Fulguro kept his eyes on the HP Gauge placed above its head. Bit by bit, it was being depleted, while J was careful enough to avoid any attack from the crocodile's tail or jaw. And finally, after seconds that felt like tiresome minutes, the crocodile unleashed a roar of pain.

“Hey!” Bygorn screamed from the top of his loot pile.” “Hurt Handbagg like that again and I'll cut ya!”

Fulguro smirked. There was the signal he needed.

Thunder Shaper! Arrow Shape! Execute!

The blue spheres placed on his Volt Gloves crackled as a vibrant light activated them. The teenager swiftly raised his hands as electricity shaped itself like an electric arrow. “Jump!”

J hit the crocodile once last time before backing away towards Fulguro and performing a flawless backflip. At this moment, he hurled his projectile, badly hurting the crocodile in the process.

“Now!" Fulguro exclaimed. "Use your skill!”

J landed right next to Fulguro and rushed to the crocodile's side.

Fiery Twirl! Execute!

J bent her knees and furiously spun in place. She leaped away as the crocodile attempted to bite her and continued spinning, in a pattern that looked similar to her previous one, but at a much faster pace. As suddenly as it started, J's dancing frenzy abruptly stopped. There she was, away from Fulguro's position and facing the giant crocodile, an orange aura surrounding her. She pointed her shinning rapier at her foe.

“The jackal's dance takes place beyond the ties of life and death.” J chanted. “Let its wonderful might carve an eternal mark in your skewered soul. Inner Beast Fangprime!”

Fulguro's eyes widened: right behind J, an anthropomorphic canine creature appeared, wielding a rapier as well. A giant fox-like tail with golden stripes was lazily swinging behind it. J slightly lowered her head, making the pointy features of her helmet look like long, fennec fox ears. “Heads up, Thunder Boy,” she warned calmly as Fulguro side-stepped away from the trajectory.

Primal Roar! Execute!

Swinging her rapier, J performed an amazing dash towards the crocodile, with her Inner Beast closely imitating her movements like an assaulting shadow. She struck the crocodile from the tip of her blade, and when the Inner Beast copied her action, a roaring sound was unleashed, while a burst of energy accompanied the attack. The crocodile was immediately tossed aside by the mighty Skill as if its size didn't matter in the slightest.

“Job's done." J commented. 

Fulguro smiled. "That's a pretty cool skill. But, uh... 'Thunder Boy'?”

“You don't like it.”

“I don't.”

"Good."

“HEY!”

Intrigued, by the sudden shout, J looked behind her, and the Fulguro followed her gaze, just in time to notice a child land on the ground. He proceeded to point a menacing finger at J, an angered expression on the face. “I warned you!" he continued. "Stop hurting Handbagg! Just 'cause Irvin doesn't like us doesn't mean you have to beat up my pet! Let's solve this the usual way, aight?”

The two players looked at the kid, unsure what to think. He was bare-footed, wearing a plain black shirt and slightly torn blue pants, though his most noticeable feature was the giant beanie with green and white stripes going from the back of his head down to his back.

“Bygorn!”

Bygorn turned around as two girls jumped from the loot pile as well, also bare-footed. They were pointing at something on their right. Both were running with simple mid-long dresses, one crimson, the other blue. Their short hair shared the same color as their respective clothing.

“They hurt Kudzy!” the twins exclaimed in perfect synch. “Can we experiment with them? Pwe-e-e-ase?”

“Carnat, I said you only torture prisoners!" Bygorn exclaimed. "Same for you, Azuria! They're not our prisoners yet, we have to battle them for that to happen!”

“You'd be better off not torturing anyone from our crew, girlies!”

All three of them turned their heads towards the voice. Kamikaz walked towards them, accompanied by Mettrick and Yatsu. She had nonchalantly placed her trident behind her shoulders, arms wrapped around it.

“Rabbit's down.” Mettrick summarized for Fulguro and J. “It was a pet-like mini-boss, with a Marabunta Style. It could multiply, but that was pretty much the only thing it could do. Only these kids left and we're done.”

“It's so funny to hear you call other people 'kids', Lil' Met.”

“Shut up. I'm not a kid anymore.”

“I don't know why Irvin hired so many mercenaries this time,” Bygorn said, “but if you guys want this loot so badly, you'll have to fight for it!”

"Wait, who's Irvin?" Yatsu asked.

"Probably some random NPC he thinks we work for," Mettrick answered. "It doesn't matter, he'll only realize we're not working for anyone after the battle."

"Because video games!" Kamikaz added.

Bygorn pulled out a curved broadsword with nine rings attached to it from behind his back. Kamikaz whistled as she looked at the fancy weapon. “Wow! Where did he get that?”

“Hah!” the twin girls suddenly exclaimed, once again in perfect sync. “You'll never get something like that, boy. Try using that thing you call a weapon, I'm sure it'll compensate for your lack of brawn!”

Kamikaz's smile grew larger. “O-o-o-o-okay, so they actually called me a boy, And they insulted Kerberos. I'm gonna blow them up.”

Yatsu gazed at her. “Who's Kerberos?”

Kamikaz nonchalantly approched the trio of enemies. “My trident.”

Carnat and Azuria leaped back, followed by a grinning Bygorn. “You don't touch my crew if I have something to say about it!” he exclaimed menacingly.

An equally devilish grin appeared on Kamikaz's face. “Oh, REALLY?!” she violently planted her trident on the ground. “I wonder what stuff you'll have to say about it if you're dead!” A giant purple circle appeared below her as she laughed sadistically, her cape floating angrily behind her. “I'm really happy I didn't use any Skill since I entered the Loot Shell!” she shouted. “'Cause now we're talkin' serious power, so be happy I'm wasting it on you punks!”

“Hey, Kaz!” Mettrick shouted over the sudden wind that had risen around Kamikaz. “Don't use any major Skill right now, we'll need them for the end of the battle!”

“I'm usin' it no matter what! You guys come up with a plan, I'll distract them!” A second circle appeared below her. Both had a large triangle shape inside of them. “Chanting time!” Kamikaz exclaimed before joining words with action. 

“The countdown is ready to go: may the massive corruption begin! 

Confess your wrongdoings: for His justice is called sin! 

See the rebels tremble before His devilish might, 

For all souls shall crumble at His mere sight!”

Not wasting any more time, Bygorn ran towards Kamikaz while the twins behind him put their hands on the ground, apparently focusing to summon something of their own.

Burn Cast! Execute!

Kamikaz pointed her free hand at Bygorn. “Begone, heretic!” A small explosion hit the kid's chest and blew him away, right into the base of the giant loot pile.

“…He incarnates pain beyond description! 

He'll mark your grave with his inscription! 

Make silence, fool, and freeze! 

For all must hear the sound of the Devil's Breeze!”

Chant Damage Bonus: Activated!

Devil's Breeze! Execute!