[fic][SFC] Furai no Shiren: Replay Fiction #2
Alan Kwan
[SFC] Fantastic Dungeon 2: Furai no Shiren
replay fiction #2: Shrine of Buffu, floor 24
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This article is the second that describes Shiren's adventures
in a story-telling format. The player was, well, me.
The monsters and items are taken form the game. Various
stuff, including the game title, are copyright Chun Soft.
I've made up the enchantations for some of the special
attacks, but the effects are loyal to the game.
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Background: Curious to find out what is beyond floor
25 of the Shrine of Buffu, Shiren enters the dungeon
again.
-----------------------------------------
The memories of Shiren's last defeat, by the seemingly
harmless Men-bells and the surprise from the Killer
Gyazer, was stil fresh in his mind, yet he was
now on floor 24 of the Shrine of Buffu again. That
blow from the giant blue claw, and then all went dark,
and the next moment he was conscious again, he was back
at the Valley Inn. All his items were lost, of course,
and even all his experience. Starting afresh, Shiren
had to work his way down the dungeon again, floor by
floor. But he was making it, and now he was here again.
The layout of the floor seemed different. This is the
magical property of the Fantastic Dungeons: every time
you enter, the map is different from that on your last
visit.
Again, Shiren had the luck of starting alone in a room.
But, this time, his feelings were very different than the
last time. A few floors above, Shiren ran into a Green
Todo while he himself was in Chibi (Mini) Tank form.
The Green Todo is harmless as far as life is concerned,
but it is annoying because it steals items from adventurers.
However, it doesn't know how to steal from another monster,
and that was the shape that Shiren was in. If Shiren can
kill it before the Todo can grab an item, it will always
leave behind another item, which is the spoils it previously
grabbed from someone less fortunate.
Shiren, or Chibi Tank, fired at the Todo. The Chibi Tank is very
fast, and it fires silver arrows, which can magically shoot
through walls and monsters, in practice damaging all monsters
in its line of fire. The Green Todo cried in agony, and -
it splitted into two.
Well, that is what is remarkable about a Green Todo, unlike
its lower kin the Thief Todo, which does not have the
splitting ability. However, here it can't hurt: any number
of Green Todo won't know how to steal from another monster.
In fact, it is a good thing, since not only does Shiren get
experience for killing each split-off, he also gets a new
item for each. Shiren kept blasting off, and the Todo splitted
again, until there were about nine or ten of them. Eventually,
Shiren wiped them all out.
Shiren reverted to human form, and examined the spoils: two
Pots of Holdings, large ones too, two Staffs of Buffu, some Shields,
a Pot of Massage, and other less significant stuff. Very good.
Well, back to the present. Shiren checked his belongings:
six Pots of Holdings, five Staffs of Buffu, a Heavy Shield
(with defense strength of 10), a Meat of Super Stubborn
Old Guy Tank, and an assortment of other Meats, Staffs
and Pots. He even had a stomach twice the size of any
normal human being, thanks to a Meat of Singing Polygon
that he endeavoured to make higher in the dungeon.
Nothing would be able to stand in Shiren's way this time.
Maybe he would need a Disposable Shield, but he was pretty
sure he would be able to do well without it. The staircase
downwards happened to be right in the very room that Shiren
started, but Shiren decided to do a little exploration on
this floor.
Shiren entered the next room. It was a shop! Shiren exclaimed
a word of gratitude for his incredible luck, and proceeded
to check the wares. Among other items, there was a
Disposable Shield +3 ! Shiren would have a defense strength
of 33 whenever he transformed into a monster! This was just
unbelievable.
Shiren prepared for "the trade" - theft. He planned to sell
all his items for cash, and then grap everything: his own items,
the cash he got for them, and the items on sale in the shop -
and run. Such misbehavior has its risks, of course: the Shopkeeper
and the numerous Security Guards are very strong, and there are
also fast and furious Guard Dogs that will come after Shiren.
It is often wondered why such powerful warriors take their present
jobs instead of becoming great adventurers, or why the Security
Guards don't cleanse the dungeons of monsters and make it safe
for travellers. Such questions have never been answered,
of course. Anyway, here in the Shrine of Buffu, the guards
are no deterrent to Shiren, because he can transform
into a Pumpkinhead with a Meat, and then travel through walls
to the staircase. The shopkeeper, guards and dogs cannot hurt
Shiren while he is in a wall, so, if it is needed, Shiren can even
dispatch them safely under the hard cover of the wall. In fact,
here in the Shrine of Buffu, theft is such a common activity that
many shopkeepers are considering quitting their businesses.
Shiren had several Meat of Pumpkinhead in his Pots. There was no
real point to explore the rest of the floor, since Shiren seemed
to have more resources than he could carry, or that he would
ever need to use. Just as Shiren was preparing to lay his items
on the ground in order to `sell' them, a Squad Leader Ant opened
a hole in one of the walls of the shop and broke in. Shiren
sliced his Butcher's Knife of Buffu through it, and its Meat
dropped. Ha, now Shiren didn't even have to use a Meat of
Pumpkinhead, since he could eat the Meat of the ant, dig a
tunnel to the adjacent room with the staircase, and then
grab everything and dash towards the staircase through that
tunnel.
Shiren ate the Meat and worked on the tunnel. As he just
emerged into the other room, to his surprise a Men-bells
somehow showed up in the tunnel behind him. Shiren hastily
changed back to human form and fought the creature.
"Summon Monster Level 2!" and repeat. The Men-bells summoned
a Minotaur and a Master Chicken before it fell under Shiren's
knife. Shiren fought the Minotaur and got quite a bruise
from it. Shiren was now facing the Master Chicken.
Fighting it the same old-fashioned way, in Shiren's present
weakened state, seemed a bit dangerous.
Shiren checked his items. He had a number of Staffs, and he had
already identified most of them through their effects. (Here in the
Shrine of Buffu, Scrolls of Identification are rare and only
appear in shops, and Pots of Identification have never been
seen.) There was a yet unidentified Staff, and by elimination
this was likely to be a Staff of Misfortune. Its effect would
be to cause a Level-Down to the target. Many threatening
monsters would be reduced to not much of a threat by a wave
of this staff.
Against the Master Chicken, the Staff of Misfortune is one
of the best things to use. Normally, there is a small
drawback with using the Staff, because Shiren would only get
experience for the weakened, Level-Down monster. However,
the Master Chicken has the trait that when it is seriously
wounded, it transforms into a Chicken and runs away.
Even if Shiren then kills it, he would only get the
experience for the Chicken. Therefore, the drawback is
not that significant in the case of the Master Chicken,
since Shiren is likely to get only the same reduced experience
anyway, even if he takes on the monster without using the
Staff. Well, Shiren took out the staff and waved it at the
Master Chicken.
"Monster Level _UP_!" the monster cheered and turned into
a Great Chicken. Shiren was shocked. He forgot that the
staff had never been tested and identified! It was a Staff
of /Fortune/, which had the opposite effect of the Staff of
Misfortune! It would be useful, in the Shrine of Buffu, in
combination with the Staff of Buffu, so that Shiren can get
high quality meat, like a Meat of Super Stubborn Old Guy
Tank, easily. However, Shiren used it at the wrong instant.
It was now too late. Before Shiren had any chance to take
any other action, the Great Chicken, with super strength
and speed, knocked Shiren unconscious in one blow.
Shiren was defeated, his vast resources unused.
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This is quoted from an advertisement of the game:
"The biggest enemy is your own carelessness."
--
"Live Life with Heart."
Alan Kwan kw...@cs.cornell.edu