1. We live in a world
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2. so saturated with games,
that it's hard to keep up.
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3. In fact, most are released
with little fanfare
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4. and fade into obscurity.
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5. But there's one that's capture
the imagination of the masses.
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6. A fully immersive VRMMO
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7. that boasts over
30 million players world-wide.
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8. The definitive
triple-A experience,
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9. Shangri-La Frontier!
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10. One such player,
Rakuro Hizutome,
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11. has set aside
his trash-game obsession
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12. to try his hand
at a God-tier title!
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13. With a bug-free game
on his horizon,
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14. who knows what exciting
new adventures await!
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15. Now then, shall we start
with strategy,
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16. or dive right in?
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17. There is a slight problem
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18. we should get out
of the way first.
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19. At the beginning of the battle.
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20. Wethermon triggers a skill
that drops everyone's max level
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21. in the area to 50.
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22. Everyone, except for him,
of course,
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23. which complicates things,
to say the least.
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24. We're stuck at 50?
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25. I get it. That's why our levels
won't be a problem?
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26. Yeah, except he's level 200.
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27. Two hundred?
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28. We're
talkin' a 150 level gap,
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29. minimum. That's why I need
players with real skills,
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30. not frills.
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31. And that's where you,
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32. my low-level friends,
come into play.
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33. You won't
need to hit the level cap
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34. for a chance at glory.
It's perfect!
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35. I should say.
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36. If you don't wanna get
categorically wrecked,
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37. you'll wanna hit 50.
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38. Grind it out!
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39. Don't have too much fun
without me!
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40. Grind it out to 50, huh?
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41. She said there was
a hidden area in the Iron Ruins
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42. perfect for power-leveling.
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43. But with less than two-weeks
to tango,
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44. how long will it take
to hit that cap?
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45. It's time to eff around
and find out
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46. Man, it's like a whole
different game in here!
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47. We sure don't have floating
black panels in Rabituza!
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48. Dude, it's criminal
how much fun you can have
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49. buggin' out moving platforms
like these!
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50. I think
the "trash game" filter
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51. burned itself
onto your retinas.
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52. Does Thirdrema sell eyedrops?
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53. No way! I thought this room's
vibe was hella familiar,
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54. but damn!
It's the final boss stage
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55. from Brave Galaxy Fighter!
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56. Cool, never heard of it.
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57. It's a world-wide phenomenon,
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58. the pinnacle of sci-fighters,
everyone's played...
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59. Ooh, it's you.
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60. Joke's on you for thinkin'
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61. I'd know about some
God-tier sci-fighter.
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62. Speaking of "God-tier,"
what're you up to, currently?
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63. Level-wise?
Just hit 25.
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64. Aww, girl!
I can't even remember
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65. what it was like to be
in my 20s,
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66. you're like a freakin' baby!
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67. Don't mind me,
I'm 31 levels young.
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68. That's only a six-level
difference, you fricken' turd!
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69. Don't feel bad!
Sunraku's clearly worried
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70. about how frail
and helpless you are!
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71. So wise, like a furry Gandhi.
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72. I'm not frail and helpless!
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73. You got it all wrong,
bunny boy!
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74. Sunraku, look!
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75. I hate to be a bother,
but we're all about to die!
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76. Sneaking in enemies
with the floating panels?
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77. Real dick move!
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78. You can go ahead and sit
this one out, Sunraku!
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79. - Huh?
- Ah!
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80. No matter how low level
we may be,
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81. SLF gives us a fighting chance!
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82. Should we help
instead of standing idly by?
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83. Eh. No?
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84. Repel Counter!
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85. He's way too easy.
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86. You're meant for practicing,
aren'tcha li'l guy?
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87. Here comes, Crush Uppercut!
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88. Hey, one punch, man!
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89. You're actually quite
powerful, aren't you?
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90. What's with the red aura?
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91. Some kinda buff?
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92. Mm-hmm.
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93. It gives me a bonus
to strength and vitality.
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94. This spell's called
Spirit Fist, Red!
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95. I'm a Monk,
or a "spirit fist user."
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96. I can't equip weapons,
but that's okay.
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97. I get to buff myself
and beat shit up!
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98. What's your build?
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99. I'm runnin' HP
and vitality, all the way!
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100. I guess you could call me
a "light fighter."
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101. Here to tank and spank!
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102. That is pretty tanky
for a Monk.
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103. You expecting to take
lotsa damage, or what?
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104. "Kill 'em
before they kill you."
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105. Makes sense for
a fighting game freak like you.
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106. If you're wondering, I'm—
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107. Oh, I've already
got you pegged, dude.
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108. You pumped your points
into strength and agility,
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109. you're a glass cannon
all damn day!
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110. "Yer a glass cannon
all damn day." Wrong!
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111. I went all-in on luck
and agility,
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112. so your boy's a luck fighter!
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113. Sounds like
a glass cannon to me, bro.
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114. A cannon exploding
with Vorpal soul!
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115. Oh, yeah, right.
What the hell is that?
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116. Vorpal soul is Vorpal soul,
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117. is Vorpal soul, is Vorpal soul!
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118. According to el map-o,
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119. the hidden area
we're looking for
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120. is somewhere
on the floor up ahead.
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121. "Walk along the left side
of the metal plating"
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122. "with a giant hole in it."
Check.
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123. "Jump over the crack," got it.
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124. "Then hop onto the beat-up
looking floater."
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125. "Slip into the space
between B2F and B3F."
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126. "Now keep going straight."
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127. Good Lord, how the hell
did someone find this?
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128. You gotta be on the tail-end
of seven energy drinks
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129. to map a route
this complicated.
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130. If I'm not mistaken,
your favorite Pencil found it.
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131. Seems like a good enough
explanation to me!
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132. An ancient maze for all to see.
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133. "Dive into the hole,
and you're ready to grind."
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134. What?
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135. Huh?
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136. But it's too dark
to see the bottom!
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137. You don't think Pencilgon
masterminded an elaborate ruse
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138. to get us to off ourselves,
do you?
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139. We're past all that, right?
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140. I don't think so,
but if she did.
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141. She's gonna have to atone
for her sins.
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142. Atonement?
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143. My dad, er, the boss,
says atonement is important
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144. for the health
of our Vorpal souls!
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145. Your boss-dad is right!
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146. But she knows we can rock
whatever's down there.
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147. What kind of sick monster
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148. would wanna shatter
a glass cannon
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149. when he's in the grind
of his life?
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150. Huh?
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151. Don't worry,
I'll test the waters first.
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152. You're too kind!
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153. Whee!
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154. She's so brave and strong,
she's not helpless at all!
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155. Maybe one day I'll be as kind
and admirable as her!
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156. Huh?
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157. She's a "he", actually.
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158. Huh?
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159. The player, I mean.
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160. You know what, nevermind.
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161. The point is,
sometimes a person
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162. looks like a woman,
but has the soul of a man.
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163. Huh?
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164. Life is an enigma,
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165. brimming with
revelatory discoveries!
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166. Big world, little friend.
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167. Loser!
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168. Huh?
Did he say something?
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169. Hello! Get down here, loser!
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170. Meh, can't make it out.
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171. At least we know it's not
a murder-prank, which is nice.
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172. "Hello! Get down here, loser!"
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173. That's what he said
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174. He called me a loser?
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175. We'll see what he says
after I whoop his ass!
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176. I am not prepared!
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177. Took you long enough!
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178. It looked scary,
but it ended up
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179. being pretty smooth, right?
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180. This has to be
the secret grinding area
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181. Pencilgon mentioned!
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182. "In the Tearlight Lake,"
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183. "you can fish up
a monster called"
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184. "the "Lifestide Lake Serpent."
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185. This game and snakes, man.
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186. And you get a ton of XP
from it.
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187. Can we fish up anything
with these puny rods?
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188. Well, what have
we got to lose, am I right?
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189. Yeah-yuh!
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190. What'd ya say we have
a little friendly competition?
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191. Got a bite already, "loser!"
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192. That was fast!
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193. My father used to
take me fishing all the time.
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194. Might as well call me Fishmael.
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195. Think that's
your luck stat, dude.
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196. You got me there!
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197. A salmon?
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198. Not really much
of a serpent.
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199. Looks tasty, though!
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200. Hey! I got one, too!
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201. Lemme guess,
another salmon, right?
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202. It looks
pretty small, so probably.
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203. Wanna try a new spot?
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204. That's no salmon!
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205. A marvelous
lake-serpent, indeed!
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206. Katzo! I'm thinkin'
that's our white whale!
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207. Lifestide Lake Serpent,
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208. prepare your butt!
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209. The time has come!
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210. You wanna see how good
my new blades are
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211. at making sashimi?
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212. Wait. I thought you told us
you had to be level 50
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213. before you could equip
your fancy new moonblades?
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214. Katzo, you need
to get your ears checked.
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215. Who said I only got
one new set?
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216. Bee-hold!
The Empire Bee Twinblades!
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217. Wow!
How delightfully impressive!
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218. Dang, how the hell'd
you manage
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219. to snag another new weapon?
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220. My big sister,
Bee, crafted them!
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221. Bee?
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222. Would'ya look at that!
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223. I couldn'ta made 'em
without the mats
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224. you brought me
from the Empire Bee Queen.
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225. So, what'dya think? Eh?
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226. I didn't bust my butt
to watch you sleep!
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227. What? No way.
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228. It's done already?
Bee, uh, Bilac?
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229. I told ya my Big Sister Bee
was splendid, yeah?
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230. Just because Pops ain't here
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231. don't mean I'm a pushover!
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232. I'm not some townie blacksmith,
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233. I'm the real fricken' deal!
I learned from him, y'know!
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234. Whoa, whoa, whoa,
no disrespect!
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235. I really appreciate you!
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236. I was actually kinda
freaking out
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237. that I couldn't use
my main weapons anymore.
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238. Man, please don't tell me
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239. I'm gonna have to manage
my affection levels
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240. with rabbits other than
Emul and Vash.
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241. I'm in the Frontier,
not a dating sim!
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242. Oh, God.
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243. The thought of keeping track
of relationships
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244. with other rabbits is makin'
my butt pucker
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245. more than an all-you-can-eat
hot-wing scarf-a-thon!
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246. Huh? Sunraku looks like
he's seen a ghost!
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247. The trauma from
that awful trash-game
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248. dating sim is haunting me!
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249. There were twelve girls,
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250. and I had to precariously
balance their affection levels
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251. without missing a beat.
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252. One slip-up,
and their love-gage
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253. would plummet like
a White Star ocean-liner
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254. after a fight with an iceberg.
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255. Then the next thing you know,
I've got a crappy ending
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256. where they all move to Italy
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257. to work in a pizzeria,
for free!
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258. - Huh?
- You off your rocker?
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259. What the hell
are you talkin' about?
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260. "Sunraku Picklefish's" heart
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261. was crushed by a pizza stone.
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262. But enough about the
tribulations of adolescence.
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263. Look at these
sick ass twin blades!
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264. You're pretty good,
you know that?
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265. Damn straight.
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266. Very impressive indeed!
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267. Glad I went back
for the Queen's mats
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268. after I beat the quad beetle.
I'd be screwed if I hadn't!
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269. They'll do the job,
and then some.
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270. The one in your right-hand
has a, uh, "unique" attribute.
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271. Ya don't say?
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272. This thing's
kickin' our ass, bro!
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273. We're under-leveled!
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274. Skills don't matter
when our stats are too low
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275. to make a dent!
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276. Certain weapons,
skills, spells,
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277. and even some monster attacks
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278. Have the "corrode" attribute,
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279. which destroys part
of the avatar's body
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280. by eating it away.
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281. You do enough damage
to the part you wanna take out
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282. and boom,
corrosion takes effect,
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283. causing a chain-reaction
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284. which makes
new weak points spread
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285. from the point of impact.
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286. But what your weapon can do
is wicked special!
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287. This ain't
your garden variety "corrode!"
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288. It infects the wound and slowly
corrodes it from the inside.
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289. Like a poison.
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290. The corrosive effect
builds up over time
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291. like a normal poison,
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292. working its way
through the body.
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293. And if you're able to apply
this effect repeatedly
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294. It can overwhelm
the enemy's debuff defenses,
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295. until you can see it
start to crack!
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296. The scales are gone, Katzo!
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297. Got it! Time to bring out
the big guns!
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298. Spirit Fist, Black!
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299. Looky there!
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300. Pond scum's got a proper
weak spot!
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301. Uh. Don't worry,
I'll help, tallyho!
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302. Emul!
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303. Katzo!
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304. My build's a monk tank
that spanks, remember?
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305. A little tail-whip
won't take me out!
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306. My hero!
Many thanks, dearest friend!
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307. Nice try, Repel Counter!
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308. Killer stun!
Now let's kick his ass!
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309. - Hell, yeah!
- Righty-o!
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310. Ready for that
serpent sashimi?
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311. - Hell, yeah!
- We actually defeated it!
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312. Nice job, guys!
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313. Holy crap,
I'm already levelin' up!
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314. This XP's no joke,
naw mean?
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315. Man, that was one tough
water-snake!
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316. I leveled up four times,
my dude!
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317. Hey, check it out,
I learned some new skills, too!
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318. If they're compatible,
I might be able to link 'em
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319. at the Skill Garden!
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320. Huh? You can't link skills!
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321. Look at you,
mixin' up your games again!
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322. Huh?
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323. Huh?
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324. Huh?
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325. No, dumb-dumb!
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326. SLF is all about using
the skills you learn,
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327. so you can combine them
into combo skills,
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328. which is like, a core element
of the gameplay, man!
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329. Combine them?
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330. Remember
the tutorial in Firstia?
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331. The starting town? Hello?
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332. Firstia?
I mighta skipped it.
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333. Huh?
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334. When two skills
with proficiency levels
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335. love each other very much,
they can be linked
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336. at a facility called
"The Skill Garden."
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337. Voila! This is how new,
more powerful
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338. "combo skills" are born!
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339. Those are proficiency levels?
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340. Mind blown.
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341. I was wondering why some skills
changed their name,
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342. like Repel Counter
to Flash Counter,
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343. while others could be
leveled up for some mysterious,
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344. impossible-to-figure-out
reason.
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345. So the latter skills
with levels
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346. can be linked into combos?
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347. In short, a "Skill Garden"
is where you go to find out
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348. how close a skill is
to leveling or evolving,
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349. and also find out
the conditions
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350. for learning new skills.
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351. This is important stuff, bro!
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352. Plus, they sell grimoires there
and stuff like—
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353. Sunraku! Are you okay?
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354. Say you don't know about
sub-jobs or guilds,
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355. and I might throw up a little.
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356. How much did I freakin' miss
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357. by skipping
one stupid little town?
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358. Fine! It's whatever!
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359. Wallowing in my own regret
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360. will just drag me
to a darker place!
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361. Rise and grind, people!
Let's go!
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362. Nothing like
the simple task of fishing
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363. to clear one's mind!
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364. Emul, Katzo, get over here!
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365. We got us some more eels
to wrangle!
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366. Hi-ho, righty-o!
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367. Bottle up those emotions.
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368. That's healthy.
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369. You already hit 40 and 42?
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370. Holy crap!
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371. How did you level up so fast
in such a short time?
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372. Pump the brakes a little,
you'll make me look bad.
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373. Wouldn't want that!
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374. We might have done it faster if
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375. this friggin' genius
hadn't skipped the tutorial.
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376. Not another...
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377. All right, fine.
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378. Your secret's safe with me.
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379. But for real, we couldn't
have done it without Emul!
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380. This little power-house
stole the show,
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381. who knew she was packin'!
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382. I truly outdid myself!
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383. You can't tell by lookin',
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384. but she's rockin' level 56!
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385. Huh?
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386. And I gotta say,
this tent is pretty handy!
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387. Mm-hmm.
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388. Not too swanky,
but it's practical!
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389. And you can save in it!
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390. Yeah, but they cost
a freakin' fortune,
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391. and then you can only use it
a handful of times,
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392. which really blows.
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393. I usually save 'em for raids,
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394. but since
we're so pressed for time,
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395. I figured "what the hell?"
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396. Enough chatting!
Don't just sit there,
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397. are you ready to go?
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398. I'm sorry, "go?"
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399. Go where?
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400. We have to
meet her during the full moon.
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401. It's our only chance.
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402. Who is "her," exactly?
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403. To trigger the boss fight
with Wethermon the Tombguard,
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404. there's someone important
to talk to.
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405. Huh?
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406. She's a unique NPC,
the lady of "Bygone Days."
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407. Setsuna.
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408. SLF Theater!
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409. Mini!
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410. In the Prismatic Forest Grotto,
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411. there lives a legend,
kept alive by faint whispers,
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412. floating on the summer breeze.
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413. The mysterious monster-bird,
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414. the Rabbit-Eared Shoebill!
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415. But is this cryptid
more than a legend?
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416. Does it actually exist?
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417. One part rabbit, bird,
and a mystery.
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418. We've got all of SF-Zoo's
knowledge at our disposal,
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419. so we're gonna find this
damn thing, or die trying!
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420. Hey, Captain!
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421. You're gonna
wanna see this!
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422. Can it be,
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423. the footprint of
the Rabbit-Eared Shoebill?
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