Windsday, 3/24/1036 (part 1)

The Eldieme Necropolis. Level 50. Defeats = 1
Crawlers' Nest. Level 50. Defeats = 1

I seem to have reached the limits of my capabilities. I have slain monster after monster, but cannot seem to reach the next level of power. Perhaps level 50 is as strong as I will ever get. No! That can't be true! I defiantly challenge that very notion! After hearing some rumors, I went to Ru'Lude Gardens in Jeuno to seek the counsel of its powerful residents. I came upon a creepy old man who calls himself Maat. He was very rude, and called me a "tiny bug" compared to the residents there! I was offended, but at the same time knew that I came to the right place. Maat claimed to be a teacher and said he knew the secret of surpassing my limits. I was to seek out items from very dangerous locations and bring them to him. I am still working of that quest now.

I went to The Eldieme Necropolis to seek out an Ancient Papyrus for Maat. My friend Pitaya came with me to lend support with spells like Sneak, Invisible, and Regen. (I went with a Thief Support Job for Treasure Hunter.) Pitaya seems to have been reincarnated into his current Tarutaru form. He says he was a Mithra in a former life! I am not so sure I believe in such things, but there is no doubt he is experienced beyond his current young level 25 White Mage form. Nevertheless we had a lot of trouble at first. The biggest problem was the lack of any natural pets in the nearby area. I was forced to use Funguar Familiar jug pets, which were much weaker than the Tough Liches we were fighting. I could solo them by calling a second Familiar mid-fight, and sometimes with just one pet and a pet food, but it was very difficult either way since I did not have the spells of my usual White Mage support job. Also, since many of the Liches were Black Mages, their area spells and TP abilities would wreak havoc. Pitaya was defeated a few times by such collateral damage, and one particularly tough Lich defeated us both. Sadly, Pitaya deleveled to 24 after one of the defeats and could not easily make it back (no Invisible anymore). We had to call in the aid of an old friend who I thought had retired from adventuring - Komaru.

Komaru was a much higher level White Mage - I think level 47. He was my first teacher in the art of adventuring and helped me get to where I am today. With his assistance, I was able to defeat the Liches far more readily. Since he could more easily heal me, I could co-tank with my pet to keep it alive for its duration. Still, we were there for over a day with no luck. I was starting to think Maat had sent me on a wild chocobo chase. Then we were contacted by a bored level 75 Monk in a another part of the Necropolis who offered his assistance. Apparently Maat sent him on the same arduous task some years ago. Even with the monk killing liches in another part of the dungeon and us continuing at our own pace, we were still there for almost another whole day. Then, suddenly, the Monk finds an Ancient Papyrus! With a cheer we thanked him for his help and he went back about his business. But I didn't want to leave just yet. I think Komaru faced the same limits as I did. I figured while we were there, we might as well try to get another papyrus in case he should decided to permanently come out of retirement one day. Fortunately, another one dropped on the very next killed Lich! Both of us were now 1/3 of the way to breaking the level 50 barrier.

I thanked Komaru and Pitaya again and bid them farewell. They had their own lives to get back to. I then went to the familiar Crawlers' Nest to seek out Maat's second requested item, an Exoray Mold. I could solo the Exorays with some difficulty. There were Tough to me, but unlike the Necropolis there were plenty of natural pets in the Nest. The basement had parties killing the Exorays there. Hence, I went to the second floor, and used Witch Hazel (Sapling) Pets against the Exorays in a small round room nearby. The problem was that the saplings were mostly Tough too, with only a few Even Match ones mixed in. I tired to convert a few, but they wouldn't despawn after Leave! It looks like they had a very large roaming area. Nevertheless, I fought the Exorays as best I could, using even using Tough Saplings as necessary. I think my new Monster Signa really helped with the Charming here. The sapling link and a mischarm would likely mean defeat. In fact, I did get one mischarm during a pet swap, and it did lead to my defeat. Other than that one time, things were rough but I got through it intact. Sadly, after countless defeated exorays I still have not seen a single Exoray Mold. I'll have to come back later. It seems my friends have need of a Paladin in Yuhtunga Jungle!

(Continued in Part 2)