[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.
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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."
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"Live Life with Heart."
Alan Kwan kw...@cs.cornell.edu