Ranmaru

'Greatness is simple.'

*Ranmaru - A friend and protector of Az.*

*A legendary swordsmaster.*

*A legendary sword master who waits eagerly for his friend's return.*

## Intro

Master Ranmaru is a good friend and protector of Az, the 'Man-dragon'. He combined sword fighting with arcane to create his own unique 'Arcane Blade' school. He also studied the secret to immortality and achieved slow aging, but because he lacks the power to master its control, he often falls into deep slumber.

Ranmaru left Azria without a trace after Az departed Wonderland, only to resurface in the Battle of Azria, slaying many in the Shadow Cult. Following Flux Tower's explosion that leveled Azria, Ranmaru was gone again. Some claimed to have spotted him in the Star Forest, the Red Desert, and even the Dragon Keep, looking out to the sea, perhaps waiting for a certain person to return.

### Forming a Pact

**Ranmaru's rarity:** SSR

**Max Epiphany without Illumination:** Level 6

The player can form a pact with Ranmaru by the following methods:

* Starter Summon
	+ Ranmaru is available by default within the starter summon pool
* Limited Summon
	+ You can form a pact with Ranmaru by summoning him on his limited-time banner.

## Skills

### Basic

**Skill Level**
1. 97%
2. 104%
3. 111%
4. 118%
	+ When using [Sword: Pierce], the damage is increased by 20% and has a moderate chance to restore 5 rage .

### Advanced

* [Running Blood]: increases damage dealt by [Skill Level] for 3 rounds.

**Skill Level**
1. 31%
2. 33%
3. 35%
4. 37%
	+ Enhances Running Blood's damage bonus by 10%.
* **Boiled Blood**
	+ Running Blood increases Ranmaru's healing received by 15%.

### Ultimate

* [The Last One]: Ignores the action order and acts as the last unit, lasting 2 rounds.

**Skill Level**
1. 484%
2. 518%
3. 552%
4. 586%
	+ When Sword: Dead Wind hits a target, inflicts [Breath Disorder] on it.
		- [Breath Disorder]: Reduces the target's damage dealt by 15% for 2 rounds.
* **Ursus's Touch**
	+ Ranmaru gains God if [Sword: Dead Wind] kills the enemy.
		- [God]: Grants immunity to controlling debuffs for 2 rounds.
* **Divine Destruction**
	+ Sword: Dead Wind's damage is increased by 10% and ignores 20% of the target's P.DEF.

### Mastery

* [Once A Millennium]: Reduces Area Damage and Damage over Time by 70%. When using [Sword: Pierce], if the target is another player and has a higher HP % than Ranmaru, then no damage is dealt, and Ranmaru swaps HP with the target. If the target is not a player, then deals damage equal to P. ATK\*500%. [Once A Millennium] is removed when either of the above triggers.
* [Sword Aura]: Gains a shield that equals (37.50% + Mastery Bonus) of P. ATK at the time of gaining [Sword Aura]. While active, Ranmaru cannot be frozen. The shield does not stack, and the shield value of the old [Sword Aura] is removed when a new [Sword Aura] is active. Ranmaru's damage dealt is also increased by 30% while [Sword Aura] is active, and increased by 20% as well as 10 rage without [Sword Aura].

## Imprint

### Basic Engraving

* Valor Engraving (MaxHP +1.92% per Engraving level)
	+ Each engraving level requires I.N. Flux - Earth x120 and Gold x25,000

### Imprint Skill

The following Imprint Skill can be equipped on other Gyees and Avatars once unlocked.

* [Sword Aura's Guard], lasts 8 rounds, cannot be dispelled, will be removed upon defeat, and cannot be stacked.
	+ Before self's action, if self doesn't carry [Sword Aura], gets [Sword Aura]
	+ Increases 10% single-targeted DMG for self.
* [Sword Aura], lasts 3 rounds, cannot be dispelled, will be removed upon defeat, and cannot be stacked.
	+ Gains a shield that neutralizes damage equal to Max HP \*25%
	+ When the shield is active, immune to the Freeze state
	+ When attacked by a single-targeted attack, inflict [Cyclone] on the attacker.
* [Cyclone], lasts 2 rounds, can be purified, will be removed upon defeat, and cannot be stacked.
	+ Be the last one to attack regardless of the speed order

## Intimacy

### Date Choices

Dates will give either 500, 700, or 900 intimacy points depending on the choice selected.

* **Traveling - There are countless fun places to visit on this continent. But only an experienced traveler could tell you which places are the best to visit.**
	+ **Cue:** So, where do you think I should go, Mr. Ranmaru?
		- Red Desert
		*700 Intimacy*
		- Star Woods
		*900 Intimacy*
		- Dragon Keep
		*500 Intimacy*

* **Plant - Chrysanthemum, bamboo, or peony, which is more suitable for Master Ranmaru?**
	+ **Cue:** Do you have any suggestion?
		- Peony
		*500 Intimacy*
		- Chrysanthemum
		*700 Intimacy*
		- Bamboo
		*900 Intimacy*

* **Friend Finder - Master Ranmaru wishes to befriend someone on Never Isle. Who would you recommend?**
	+ **Cue:** And I wanted to tell you about them for a long time.
		- Eddie
		*500 Intimacy*
		- Vundo
		*900 Intimacy*
		- Lan
		*700 Intimacy*

* **The Tea - To taste the flavor of tea is to taste the flavor of life.**
	+ **Cue:** Any thoughts on the tea?
		- It's very bitter.
		*500 Intimacy*
		- This is like life.
			* **Cue:** Why, are you interested in Once A Millennium?
				+ No, I'm just curious.
				*700 Intimacy*
				+ Immortality is the dream for many!
				*500 Intimacy*
				+ It sounds more like a curse to me.
				*900 Intimacy*
		- This is like swordsmanship.
			* **Cue:** Why, are you interested in Once A Millennium?
				+ No, I'm just curious.
				*700 Intimacy*
				+ Immortality is the dream for many!
				*500 Intimacy*
				+ It sounds more like a curse to me.
				*900 Intimacy*
		- Perhaps you can enlighten me?
		*500 Intimacy*

### Intimacy Blocks

To reach Intimacy levels 7 and 11, Ranmaru needs mementos (found in Darkflux Raid), reiki (found in Extreme Fight or Arcana Tracker), and the following block item:

* **Intimacy Level 7**
	+ S-Jade
		- A basic gem.
		Used to break through Ranmaru's Intimacy Block. Obtained in Darkflux Raid.
* **Intimacy Level 11**
	+ Bens Alarm
		- The latest gadget from Bens Factory, it functions as a timepiece, a projector, a speaker, a communicator, and a positioning device.
		Used to break through Ranmaru's Intimacy Block. Obtained in Darkflux Raid.

### Basic Drink Preferences

 50% bonus

 25% bonus

 25% bonus

 No bonus

*Note: All blended drinks have a base preference bonus of 25% that can be modified by the drink's attributes.*

### Gift Preferences

**50% bonus**

**25% bonus**

**No bonus**

### Views

Unlock views by leveling the intimacy of other gyees.

* **Lan**: Blademaster of time, model of generation.
*Lan's Intimacy reaches Lv.2 to unlock*
* **Billy**: Gosh, my great great grandfather knew Master Ranmaru!
*Billy's Intimacy reaches Lv.4 to unlock*
* **Bernard**: Heard over eighty years ago, Lord Ursus taught him personally. Does that mean he's my senior?
*Bernard's Intimacy reaches Lv.6 to unlock*
* **Az**: More comments to be released soon
*Az's Intimacy reaches Lv.8 to unlock*
* **A Commodity Shopkeeper**: I knew this strange customer! He wanted to buy a kettle with the pure silver coins and he bowed me in thanks!
* **A Never Isle Civilian**: That's him. It's he who saved me during the Battle of Azria. I can't be wrong!
* **A Western Coast Fisherman**: Eh? Isn't he the uncle living in the western island? He drinks bitter teas...

## Scripts

### Consolation Letter

(Neat handwriting with brush)

Greeting, my friend.

It may be a long time since we communicate, but my mind is always with you.

I have collected and prepared fine fresh tea recently.

And a set of delicate teawares for someone who knows tea.

Would you honor me with your presence?

Yours Sincerely, Ranmaru

### Bath Drama

* Body-relaxing and soul-soothing... Nice...
* Body cleansing is the first step to purifying your mind.
* Hmm... Did I touch something?

### Fave Hottie Slogan

When night falls upon the water of the creek, it becomes formless. When it becomes formless, it becomes deeper. It's easy to not care about being competitive, but it is hard not to care about incentives.

### Intimacy Breakthrough

**This section contains spoilers for Intimacy Breakthrough scenes.**

**-Intimacy Level 4**

**Ranmaru**: This is an expensive gift...
**Ranmaru**: But I probably shouldn't turn it down.
**Ranmaru**: I appreciate it very much.
**Ranmaru**: But don't empty the wallet next time.

**-Intimacy Level 5**

**Ranmaru**: Your wine tastes very special.
**Ranmaru**: Thank you for your hospitality.
**Ranmaru**: Please feel free to visit my humble abode.
**Ranmaru**: I, Ranmaru, shall host.

**-Intimacy Level 6**

**Ranmaru**: You have treated me with kindness.
**Ranmaru**: You were never too distant nor arrogant, just perfect.
**Ranmaru**: I'm afraid there aren't many like you these days.
**Ranmaru**: May I inquire of your interest in kendo?
**Ranmaru**: Kendo is essentially the philosophy about values and the world.
**Ranmaru**: Once you grasp the meaning behind kendo, you'll understand values and the world.
**Ranmaru**: Even if you do not resort to swordfight, the discipline will still benefit you.

**-Intimacy Level 7**

**Ranmaru**: I have a favor to ask you, my friend.
**Player**: Anything for you, Mr. Ranmaru!
**Ranmaru**: I'm busy forging a sword, would you mind bringing me some gems to produce runes?
**Player**: No problem! But you're forging a sword?
**Ranmaru**: When I lost my weapon during my escape from the Shadowland.
**Ranmaru**: I have been using a wooden sword as replacement ever since.
**Ranmaru**: Have you heard of Runesword, by chance?
**Player**: Yes. They're either carved with runes or embedded with runestone.
**Ranmaru**: Well, they could be called runeswords, I suppose.
**Ranmaru**: The sword I'm forging requires Rune Stone.
**Player**: But Rune Stone isn't as hard as metal, so to use it for the blade...
**Ranmaru**: The sword is not mean to be hard or keen, but to guide and utilize the Flux.
**Ranmaru**: It is not for ordinary fighters, but extremely useful for my secret techniques.
**Player**: I see...
**Player**: Then I must find the finest runes available!
**Ranmaru**: Oh, please do not spend exorbitantly for me.
**Ranmaru**: I know how to obtain the refined materials to create a runestone.
**Ranmaru**: I will then be able to sculpt it as necessary.
**Ranmaru**: However, I've forgotten part of the runes, thus I need you to find a basic gem for me for reference.
**Ranmaru**: No need to spend exorbitantly, just a simplest gem will do.
**Player**: I'll see what I can do!
**Ranmaru**: Thank you.
*Scene transition*
**Player**: Is this the right one, Mr. Ranmaru?
**Ranmaru**: I see… Emmm… So is it! I'm researching them!
**Player**: The pattern of the rune seems simple to me. How could you forget it?
**Ranmaru**: It is simple with everything in the world.
**Ranmaru**: The greatest complexity comes from the simplest origin.
**Ranmaru**: Take this Jade Rune for example.
**Ranmaru**: Miss an inch and you will miss by miles.
**Ranmaru**: See the curvature? The two lines within it and the angle between each...
**Player**: Wow, it is much more complicated, like you said...
**Ranmaru**: The current runescribes can carve runes from inherited molds.
**Ranmaru**: But I have no mold, and I cannot devote time to experiment.
**Ranmaru**: Therefore I need you to seek some out as a reference for me.
**Player**: Ah, got it, Master Ranmaru. Thanks for the explanation.
**Player**: I'm curious, though...
**Ranmaru**: What is it?
**Player**: Where did you learn to carve runes?
**Ranmaru**: When I was young, I traveled the world to study the secret of kendo.
**Ranmaru**: Through sheer chance, I got to know Lord Ursus and learned from him.
**Ranmaru**: I gained knowledge of the runes from the Shadowhunters at Ursus Altar, as well.
**Player**: It must have been a fascinating experience.
**Ranmaru**: I owe you for finding me the gem, my friend.
**Ranmaru**: Please feel free to let me know when I can help you with any problem.
**Player**: It's quite all right, it's just a simple gem.
**Player**: How about if you teach me a thing or two when you have spare time?
**Ranmaru**: It will be my pleasure.
**Ranmaru**: I relish teaching someone as talented as you.

**-Intimacy Level 8**

**Ranmaru**: Thank you for the rune you brought.
**Ranmaru**: It will not be long until the runesword is forged.
**Ranmaru**: I'd like you to celebrate with me when that happens.

**-Intimacy Level 9**

**Ranmaru**: The weather has been increasingly chilly recently.
**Ranmaru**: I hope you will take care of yourself and dress accordingly.
**Ranmaru**: I did not care if I slept out in the cold in my youth.
**Ranmaru**: But now my joints are not as nimble as before.
**Ranmaru**: I hope you will avoid the bad example my younger self had set.

**-Intimacy Level 10**

**Ranmaru**: We shall not train with swords today, my friend.
**Ranmaru**: Train your eyes.
**Ranmaru**: It trains your mind even more.
**Ranmaru**: Insight is essential to mastering kendo.
**Ranmaru**: Insight means to observe with your eyes and discern with your mind.
**Ranmaru**: Every breath, every hesitation is an opening for you to seize victory.
**Ranmaru**: But do not concern your sight with his weapon, that is what your mind is for.
**Ranmaru**: You must keep your eyes on those of the opponent.
**Ranmaru**: Because his eyes will tell you everything.
**Ranmaru**: Now, keep your gaze on my eyes until the incense burns out.
**Ranmaru**: Hmm? Gaze on my eyes, not the incense.
**Player**: Ranmaru taps your shoulder with a wooden sword.
**Ranmaru**: And especially not the sword in my hand.

**-Intimacy Level 11**

**Ranmaru**: I am going to teach you stances today.
**Ranmaru**: All kendo schools practice stances in their daily routine.
**Ranmaru**: Learn how to proper stand is the foundation for any warrior.
**Ranmaru**: Learning kendo will be very beneficial for you.
**Player**: Okay.
**Ranmaru**: Stand straight, eyes level, neither raise nor lower your head, never scan about.
**Ranmaru**: Let us work on your sight first.
**Ranmaru**: No wrinkles between forehead and eyes, do not roll pupils or blink.
**Ranmaru**: That's it! Eyes slightly squinted, nose level, focus on where the lines of sight crossed!
**Ranmaru**: I intend to train you to see your flanks.
**Ranmaru**: Your aptitude is simply amazing!
**Ranmaru**: It's incredible how you are able to grasp it on the first lesson!
**Player**: Uh, you taught it to me last time I was here, Mr. Ranmaru.
**Player**: I've been practicing at home, so this is not my first lesson...
**Ranmaru**: Ah, yes, I did teach you. I just forgot!
**Player**: Are you okay, Mr. Ranmaru? Anything bothering you?
**Ranmaru**: I'm embarrassed to admit I have a sleep problem.
**Ranmaru**: I am afraid to fall asleep.
**Player**: You mean hypnophobia?!
**Ranmaru**: Because I overslept, I missed the founding of Azria, as well as its destruction...
**Ranmaru**: I blamed myself for it, until it developed into a mental disorder.
**Ranmaru**: After the Battle of Azria, I charged into Light Nexus, hoping the energy will cure my oversleeping.
**Ranmaru**: But I still slumbered all day into the night the past few days.
**Ranmaru**: Ever since, I panicked when the night fell...
**Ranmaru**: I feared I would slumber through the crucial battle against the Shadow again.
**Ranmaru**: I could not fall asleep thinking about the past, and the sun rose before I knew it...
**Ranmaru**: Frankly, I have been awake for three straight days.
**Ranmaru**: I probably should not have divulged this to you. I will resolve the problem myself.
**Player**: It's okay! Maybe I can help!
**Player**: How about I get somebody to wake you up?
**Ranmaru**: Forget it. I thought about it too, but I would rather not trouble anyone.
**Player**: Well, maybe we don't need someone but something!
**Ranmaru**: Are you suggesting a device like an hourglass?
**Player**: Similar, but we called it alarm clock!
**Player**: Give me a minute to get an alarm clock for you to try out, Mr. Ranmaru!
*Scene transition*
**Ranmaru**: An alarm clock?
**Player**: Yes, it's a clock with an alarm.
**Player**: You can wind it up to set the time...
**Player**: And when it's that time, it will ring until you wake up and hit it.
**Ranmaru**: Very practical!
**Player**: You'll still be fine if you slept through it!
**Player**: Billy has installed a communicator on it.
**Player**: If the alarm goes off for a while and you're not up, I'll hear it through the communicator on the airship!
**Player**: Billy and I will come over and wake you up.
**Ranmaru**: You are so considerate!
**Ranmaru**: This will relieve my worries!
**Ranmaru**: I do not know how to thank you!
**Player**: It's all right, you have taught me so much already.
**Ranmaru**: I really appreciate the gesture, but...
**Player**: We'll talk later, you should get some sleep first.
**Player**: Let me show you how to set the alarm.
**Ranmaru**: Please do!

**-Intimacy Level 12**

**Ranmaru**: The alarm clock gift from you has solved my problem.
**Ranmaru**: Please know I cherish it greatly.
**Ranmaru**: However...
**Ranmaru**: I hit it to stop its ringing on one occasion...
**Ranmaru**: Only to exert too much force and broke it.
**Ranmaru**: I am embarrassed to say, but it meant so much to me...
**Ranmaru**: Would you... find me a replacement?
**Ranmaru**: I shall repay you!
**Ranmaru**: My sincerest gratitude!

**-Intimacy Level 13**

**Ranmaru**: Everything I learned is written in this manual.
**Ranmaru**: It is near completion, yet I have not yet titled the manual.
**Ranmaru**: As we have grown very close over the past few days...
**Ranmaru**: I have seen in you the most precious attribute for a martial artist.
**Ranmaru**: That is, a pure heart.
**Ranmaru**: Adhering to the core means striving for no fame or fortune.
**Ranmaru**: Only with a pure heart can you attain virtue of the world.
**Ranmaru**: I shall title the manual, 'Pure Hearted Swordsmanship'.
**Ranmaru**: I'll train you in kendo, my friend.
**Ranmaru**: You are not my pupil in name only.
**Ranmaru**: I once wrote in 'Pure Hearted Swordsmanship':
**Ranmaru**: To be a consummate swordsman, one must:
**Ranmaru**: One, think no evil.
**Ranmaru**: Two, train your body, hone your skills, keep practicing.
**Ranmaru**: Three, be pure of heart, free from worldly temptations.
**Ranmaru**: Four, be humble of mind, free from fame and fortune.
**Ranmaru**: Five, never stray from the path of kendo.'
**Ranmaru**: You already possessed the first four qualities.
**Ranmaru**: Would you... be interested in continue learning kendo?
**Ranmaru**: Are you willing to be my first pupil?
**Ranmaru**: Are you willing to follow my school for all eternity?

### Dates

**This section contains spoilers for Date scenes.**

**Traveling**

**-Intro**

**Ranmaru**: There's a lot of places in this world worthy of your visit...
**Player**: Yes.
*Scene transition*
**Ranmaru**: I hiked across the land once.
**Ranmaru**: There are many sites worth recommending.
**Player**: So, where do you think I should go, Mr. Ranmaru?

**-Red Desert - 700 Intimacy**

**Player**: How about Red Desert?
**Player**: I'm always intrigued by it.
**Ranmaru**: It offers spectacular views,
**Ranmaru**: especially during sunset.
**Ranmaru**: But vipers and wolves frequent the night.
**Ranmaru**: I'd suggest...
**Ranmaru**: Don't go there alone.

**-Star Woods - 900 Intimacy**

**Player**: How about Star Woods?
**Player**: It sounded like a quiet place.
**Ranmaru**: When you visit it for the first time...
**Ranmaru**: It does feel like you're lost among the stars.
**Ranmaru**: Everything seems surreal like a dream.
**Ranmaru**: If you get the opportunity,
**Ranmaru**: you should go and enjoy yourself.

**-Dragon Keep - 500 Intimacy**

**Player**: How about Dragon Keep?
**Player**: I've been interested ever since I heard the name.
**Ranmaru**: Well, the name is the only good thing about it now.
**Ranmaru**: It's hard to find your way back from the island when fogs rises over the sea.
**Ranmaru**: I'd suggest...
**Ranmaru**: Just forget it.

**Plant**

**-Intro**

**Ranmaru**: Would you like to come to my humble abode?
**Player**: Yes.
**Ranmaru**: Please come in.
**Player**: Thank you, sir.
**Player**: What is that pleasant scent, sir?
**Ranmaru**: It's a bignonia I planted but failed to maintain.
**Ranmaru**: It won't be long before the scent fades.
**Player**: It's probably because now is not the season for it.
**Player**: Would you consider other plants?
**Player**: I'll bring the seeds with me next time.
**Ranmaru**: Thank you.
**Ranmaru**: Do you have any suggestion?

**-Peony - 500 Intimacy**

**Player**: Peony is sophisticated and would look impressive indoor.
**Ranmaru**: I agree. Let us go with that.

**-Chrysanthemum - 700 Intimacy**

**Player**: Chrysanthemum is simple and elegant. It fits you nicely.
**Ranmaru**: I agree. Let us go with that.

**-Bamboo - 900 Intimacy**

**Player**: Don't you like bamboo?
**Player**: It will last longer than any delicate flower.
**Player**: Not too mention more useful, as well.
**Player**: You can make a lot of things out of it.
**Ranmaru**: You remember my preferences!
**Ranmaru**: I'll take your advice and plant bamboo.
**Ranmaru**: Until we meet again...
**Ranmaru**: With bamboo for glass...
**Ranmaru**: Bottoms up!

**Friend Finder**

**-Intro**

**Ranmaru**: We haven't talked in a long time. Would you come over?
**Player**: Yes.
*Scene transition*
**Ranmaru**: I remember you said you have friends on Never Isle.
**Ranmaru**: They must be kind people such as yourself.
**Player**: I do have many friends on Never Isle.
**Player**: And I wanted to tell you about them for a long time.

**-Eddie - 500 Intimacy**

**Player**: He's my closest, tightest friend.
**Player**: Everybody loves him.
**Player**: Except for Miles from the Oathblades,
**Player**: I almost never heard anyone openly spoke ill of Eddie.
**Player**: Just wait till I bring him over next time,
**Player**: and I'm sure you'll be impressed with him as well.
**Ranmaru**: I'm already impressed with him from what you just said.
**Ranmaru**: It would be my pleasure to have him as a guest.

**-Vundo - 900 Intimacy**

**Player**: Like you, Principal Vundo lived through the Battle of Azria.
**Player**: So he should already be familiar with your deeds.
**Player**: A lot of questions you have for me that I couldn't answer,
**Player**: Principal Vundo would be able to explain with ease.
**Ranmaru**: Good.
**Ranmaru**: It would be my pleasure to have him as a guest.
**Ranmaru**: I'll spare no effort in my hospitality.

**-Lan - 700 Intimacy**

**Player**: Master Lan is very much like you, a proficient, righteous swordsman.
**Player**: I really would like to see you two spar.
**Player**: You'll love the fine wine he's collected, too.
**Player**: Also like you, he's a refined speaker.
**Player**: You two would get along swimmingly!
**Ranmaru**: Very good.
**Ranmaru**: It would be my pleasure to have him as a guest.

**The Meaning of Tea**

**-Intro**

**Ranmaru**: Do you have time?
**Ranmaru**: I've prepared some tea for us to drink together.
**Player**: Cheerfully accept
*Scene transition*
**Player**: Master Ranmaru!
**Ranmaru**: I'm only a bit older than you, so don't call me master.
**Player**: You're too modest for a top swordsman in Luxium.
**Ranmaru**: That's quite an overstatement.
**Ranmaru**: My Swordplay is not even a fraction of perfection of Kendo.
**Player**: You're way too modest.
**Player**: You're usually busy honing your sword skills.
**Player**: So why did you invite me for tea?
**Ranmaru**: A clear, cozy night is the best time to share a team with a pal.
**Ranmaru**: Would you care to try tea from my private collection?
**Player**: Absolutely!
**Player**: Clear and aromatic... What a great tea!
**Ranmaru**: You know something about tea, I see.
**Player**: Nah, just a little, actually.
**Player**: (This shouldn't taste bad with how it smelled.)
**Player**: (Let's take a big gulp.)
**Player**: !
**Player**: (That's bitter! Think my tongue just lost all feelings...)
**Player**: (God, my tongue's dead! Should I spit it out?)
*Choice A.1 - Spit it out!*
**Ranmaru**: Hahaha.
**Ranmaru**: Drink this glass of water to mitigate it.
**Player**: Thanks!
**Player**: ...
**Ranmaru**: Feeling better?
**Player**: Yes, thank you.
**Player**: (Ranmaru drinks it without a frown.)
**Player**: How can you drink such a bitter tea?
**Ranmaru**: It may be bitter, but it has a refreshing aftertaste.
**Ranmaru**: No other tea could compare to this.
**Ranmaru**: And it's one of the reasons I love this tea.
*Choice A.2 - Hold it in!*
**Player**: (You have to survive hell to taste paradise.)
**Ranmaru**: What do you think of the taste?
**Player**: The aftertaste is rich and aromatic, but too bitter at the start.
**Player**: It's more bitter than any herbal elixir I've tried.
**Ranmaru**: They still use herbal elixirs now?
**Player**: No. I'm talking about Blue Star, the world I'm from.
**Ranmaru**: I see. Arcana became popular decades ago.
**Ranmaru**: And the use of herbal medicine declined.
**Ranmaru**: Arcana healed faster and the patient felt very little pain.
**Ranmaru**: But it treats only the symptom, not the cause, often with complications later.
**Ranmaru**: Medicinal herbs take longer to work.
**Ranmaru**: But that's better for long-term health than Arcana.
**Ranmaru**: Too bad medicinal herbs are futile for severe injuries.
**Ranmaru**: So it figures for them to fade into obscurity in today's world.
*Conversation continues after choices*
**Player**: Is this tea of yours actually an herbal medicine?
**Ranmaru**: This is not medicine.
**Ranmaru**: It's not recorded in any medical manual.
**Ranmaru**: I discovered it when I meditated inside a cave somewhere.
**Player**: Caves are dark and damp. How could plants grow inside?
**Ranmaru**: That's what made this one different.
**Ranmaru**: There was a wonder in its bowels.
**Ranmaru**: I took it as mere rocks at first.
**Ranmaru**: Then I saw a ray of sunlight descend from above.
**Ranmaru**: I followed it and came to a strange rock.
**Ranmaru**: On that rock grew plants.
**Ranmaru**: And that's where the tea came from.
**Player**: Wow, that's so cool!
**Ranmaru**: The cave only saw sunlight from 9 to 3.
**Ranmaru**: It was my first time seeing a plant in such unfavorable environment.
**Ranmaru**: After getting over my shock, I gathered as much as I could.
**Ranmaru**: And found it perfect to serve as tea.
**Player**: Weren't you afraid it might be poisonous?
**Ranmaru**: I survived for many years and know a few things about plants.
**Ranmaru**: Not much, but sufficient to tell which ones are safe.
**Ranmaru**: I planted some around my home.
**Ranmaru**: But they were quite far off from the wild variety in taste.
**Ranmaru**: I guess they needed the harsh environment to cultivate the unique flavor.
**Player**: I'm very humbled that you would serve me such rare tea.
**Ranmaru**: Don't be, tea is meant to be shared.
**Ranmaru**: Better to enjoy it with a friend than alone.
**Player**: I'm very grateful.
**Ranmaru**: Don't mention it.
*After a while.*
**Ranmaru**: You can get epiphanies through tea ceremonies.
**Ranmaru**: Any thoughts on the tea?

**-Choice B.1: It's very bitter. - 500 Intimacy**

**Player**: It is overly bitter.
**Player**: I think my tongue's dead.
**Ranmaru**: And what did you learn from the bitterness?
**Player**: I could use your enlightenment.
**Ranmaru**: No matter where the tea grew or how it tasted,
**Ranmaru**: It's similar to life.
**Ranmaru**: I decided to take the plant home,
**Ranmaru**: because I felt it imitates life.
**Ranmaru**: Setbacks and hardships often make one stronger.
**Ranmaru**: A man can accomplish a lot with determination.
**Ranmaru**: While you can live without ever doing anything significant,
**Ranmaru**: you can't accomplish anything great by being idle.
**Ranmaru**: Other teas aren't as bitter as this.
**Ranmaru**: It has far less aroma than this.
**Ranmaru**: If it was growing outside its native environment,
**Ranmaru**: even given proper sunlight and nourishment,
**Ranmaru**: it would still be far less enjoyable than this.
**Player**: I see.
**Ranmaru**: But that was the notion when I was younger.
**Ranmaru**: Now, I feel it doesn't matter.
**Ranmaru**: It's fine whether you are ordinary or prosperous,
**Ranmaru**: it's neither good or bad.
**Player**: Huh? Why?
**Ranmaru**: It's getting late.
**Ranmaru**: We'll pick it back up next time.

**-Choice B.2: This is like life.**

**Player**: It starts off very bitter, but has an aromatic aftertaste.
**Player**: And it came from an incredibly harsh environment.
**Player**: Only 6 hours of sunlight a day.
**Player**: The environment was harsh.
**Player**: But you still managed to raise it outside the cave.
**Player**: The tea tastes different from before.
**Player**: Isn't it like us?
**Player**: We must go through setbacks and difficulties to be great.
**Player**: Only then can we stand out in a crowd.
**Player**: You can live a perfectly uneventful life.
**Player**: But that means you're perfectly undistinguished, too.
**Player**: There is a saying on Blue Star:
**Player**: No pain, no gain.
**Ranmaru**: Oh? A wise man must have said that.
**Ranmaru**: I brought the plant back because it resembled humans.
**Ranmaru**: You are wise beyond your age.
**Ranmaru**: Very commendable.
**Ranmaru**: On the topic of life...
**Ranmaru**: If you could choose...
**Ranmaru**: A glamorous existence or a plain, ordinary life...
**Ranmaru**: Which do you choose?
*Choice B.2.a1 - Glamorous existence, of course.*
**Player**: Don't we all want to stand out and be successful?
**Player**: A glamorous existence, of course.
**Ranmaru**: Look up at the stars in the sky.
**Ranmaru**: Can you tell me which one is the brightest?
**Player**: Uh, well...
**Ranmaru**: If the world is this night sky...
**Ranmaru**: And every person is a star.
**Ranmaru**: Do you still feel there's a difference in life?
**Player**: From this perspective...
**Ranmaru**: Maybe great fame and fortune
**Ranmaru**: do make one green with envy.
**Ranmaru**: But ordinary people have their own contentment.
**Ranmaru**: Only the rich and famous
**Ranmaru**: know their own problems and pain.
**Ranmaru**: Of course, a commoner has problems too.
**Ranmaru**: But that's life for you.
**Ranmaru**: Everyone has his own story.
**Ranmaru**: That's just how I look at it.
**Ranmaru**: So just treat it as an opinion.
*Choice B.2.a2 - Plain, ordinary life.*
**Player**: There's another saying on Blue Star:
**Player**: Keep it simple and real.
**Player**: With power comes responsibility and problems.
**Player**: A lot of people with a glamorous life aren't happy.
**Player**: Happiness turns plain life into a fine one.
**Ranmaru**: Look up at the stars in the sky.
**Ranmaru**: Can you tell me which one is the brightest?
**Player**: Uh, well...
**Ranmaru**: If the world is this night sky...
**Ranmaru**: And every person is a star.
**Ranmaru**: Do you still feel there's a difference in life?
**Player**: From this perspective...
**Ranmaru**: Maybe great fame and fortune
**Ranmaru**: do make one green with envy.
**Ranmaru**: But ordinary people have their own contentment.
**Ranmaru**: Only the rich and famous
**Ranmaru**: know their own problems and pain.
**Ranmaru**: Of course, a commoner has problems too.
**Ranmaru**: But that's life for you.
**Ranmaru**: Everyone has his own story.
**Ranmaru**: That's just how I look at it.
**Ranmaru**: So just treat it as an opinion.
*Choice B.2.a3 - It's all the same.*
**Player**: We all come into this world and leave the same way.
**Player**: With nothing.
**Player**: Life is merely a temporary thing.
**Player**: Why bother making a distinction?
**Player**: A life you're happy with is better than anything.
**Ranmaru**: Ha ha ha!
**Ranmaru**: You impressed me with your wisdom.
**Ranmaru**: I think I know what Master Az meant.
*Conversation continues after choices*
**Ranmaru**: Today has been an exciting day!
**Ranmaru**: I have not enjoyed a chat like this for a long time!
**Player**: Don't you have any friends to practice swords with?
**Ranmaru**: I have family.
**Ranmaru**: Or should that be 'used to'?
**Ranmaru**: Because of my decades-long slumber...
**Ranmaru**: I've lost many friends.
**Ranmaru**: Other than you, all I have is Master Az now.
**Player**: Was it because of the Once A Millennium?
**Ranmaru**: Yes.
**Ranmaru**: I fell into slumber after the Battle of Azria until a few years ago.
**Ranmaru**: Everything was new to me by then.
**Ranmaru**: Luxium became a strange place.
**Player**: Is the Once A Millennium the so-called immortality in the legend?
**Ranmaru**: I do not know what legend you speak of.
**Ranmaru**: But you can still age even with Once A Millennium.
**Ranmaru**: Just at a much slower pace.
**Ranmaru**: Why, are you interested in Once A Millennium?

**-Choice B.2.b1: No, I'm just curious. - 700 Intimacy**

**Player**: Just asking.
**Player**: I wouldn't be able to learn such profound technique, anyway.
**Ranmaru**: It is actually not complicated at all.
**Ranmaru**: I'm sure you can grasp it if you tried.
**Ranmaru**: However...
**Ranmaru**: Once A Millennium can indeed prolong life.
**Ranmaru**: But the pain longevity brings...
**Ranmaru**: Is unbearable to the unenlightened.

**-Choice B.2.b2: Immortality is the dream for many! - 500 Intimacy**

**Ranmaru**: Let not the facade fool you.
**Ranmaru**: Once A Millennium can indeed prolong life.
**Ranmaru**: But the pain longevity brings...
**Ranmaru**: Must also be endured.
**Ranmaru**: More importantly...
**Ranmaru**: One must shoulder the responsibility it entailed!
**Ranmaru**: Practicing the technique without proper discipline...
**Ranmaru**: Will certainly lead you astray.
**Ranmaru**: If you are ready for the consequences...
**Ranmaru**: When it's time, I will teach you.

**-Choice B.2.b3: It sounds more like a curse to me. - 900 Intimacy**

**Player**: Seeing your friends and loved ones departing one by one.
**Player**: It is not something I can withstand.
**Player**: I'd much prefer a normal life.
**Ranmaru**: Yeah.
**Ranmaru**: Watching friends and loved ones die is the worst thing in the world.
**Player**: Then why did you learn Once A Millennium?
**Ranmaru**: I made a promise to a friend.
**Ranmaru**: I promised Master Az my help.
**Ranmaru**: He is playing a long game.

**-Choice B.3: This is like swordsmanship.**

**Player**: The tea is very bitter on first sip.
**Player**: Hope you don't mind, but I almost spat it out.
**Player**: But once you get past the bitterness, the tea's unique aroma awaits.
**Player**: Just like in swordsmanship, when you start off
**Player**: practicing the same move over and over again every day.
**Player**: It's boring and tedious. But once you make it past that,
**Player**: you get better.
**Ranmaru**: I see you have your own view on swordsmanship.
**Ranmaru**: However, I agree with just a half of it.
**Ranmaru**: Indeed, when I was first learning Kendo...
**Ranmaru**: I'd practice every move over a thousand times a day.
**Ranmaru**: Kept that up for ten years until I could do them in my sleep.
**Ranmaru**: And only now do I begin to understand the art within.
**Ranmaru**: The process is long and arduous.
**Ranmaru**: But does it get easier after all that?
**Player**: Well...
**Ranmaru**: No, that was just the beginning.
**Ranmaru**: It's incredibly hard to find the truth of swordsmanship.
**Ranmaru**: The deeper you delve, the harder it is to breakthrough.
**Ranmaru**: You'll keep realizing there's no end to the art of swordsmanship.
**Ranmaru**: You'll hit bottlenecks in your journey.
**Ranmaru**: And the only way to break through is to continue.
**Ranmaru**: Keep pushing yourself to and above the limit.
**Ranmaru**: After countless efforts, you'll finally get to the next level.
**Ranmaru**: And truly learn and develop yourself.
**Ranmaru**: That's probably the greatest joy a warrior can have.
**Ranmaru**: Today has been an exciting day!
**Ranmaru**: I have not enjoyed a chat like this for a long time!
**Player**: Don't you have any friends to practice swords with?
**Ranmaru**: I have family.
**Ranmaru**: Or should that be 'Used to'?
**Ranmaru**: Because of my decades-long slumber...
**Ranmaru**: I've lost many friends.
**Ranmaru**: Other than you, all I have is Master Az now.
**Player**: Was it because of the Once A Millennium?
**Ranmaru**: Yes.
**Ranmaru**: I fell into slumber after the Battle of Azria until a few years ago.
**Ranmaru**: Everything was new to me by then.
**Ranmaru**: Luxium became a strange place.
**Player**: Is the Once A Millennium the so-called immortality in the legend?
**Ranmaru**: I do not know what legend you speak of.
**Ranmaru**: But you can still age even with Once A Millennium.
**Ranmaru**: Just at a much slower pace.
**Ranmaru**: Why, are you interested in Once A Millennium?
*See corresponding Choices B.2.b1, B.2.b2, and B.2.b3*

**-Choice B.4: Perhaps you can enlighten me?**

**Ranmaru**: No matter where the tea grew or how it tasted,
**Ranmaru**: It's similar to life.
**Ranmaru**: I decided to take the plant home,
**Ranmaru**: because I felt it imitates life.
**Ranmaru**: Setbacks and hardships often make one stronger.
**Ranmaru**: A man can accomplish a lot with determination.
**Ranmaru**: While you can live without ever doing anything significant,
**Ranmaru**: you can't accomplish anything great by being idle.
**Ranmaru**: Other teas aren't as bitter as this.
**Ranmaru**: It has far less aroma than this.
**Ranmaru**: If it was growing outside its native environment,
**Ranmaru**: even given proper sunlight and nourishment,
**Ranmaru**: it would still be far less enjoyable than this.
**Player**: I see.
**Ranmaru**: But that was the notion when I was younger.
**Ranmaru**: Now, I feel it doesn't matter.
**Ranmaru**: It's fine whether you are ordinary or prosperous,
**Ranmaru**: it's neither good or bad.
**Player**: Huh? Why?
**Ranmaru**: It's getting late.
**Ranmaru**: We'll pick it back up next time.

### Trifle

**This section contains spoilers for the Trifle. Please use a desktop browser for the best viewing experience.**

**Outdated Man**

Ranmaru Senpai is going out. He wants to return to the Kendo Club and visit his deceased master.
Club and master... Never heard that from him...
Are you going to give him a ride with your airship?

**-Part 1**

*Scene - Ranmaru's hut*
**Player**: Mr. Ranmaru!
*I hear nothing. Is he out practicing sword?*
*The room smells of ink.*
*Maybe he's into calligraphy on top of tea, I wonder?*
**Ranmaru**: You're here.
*Ranmaru walks in*
**Ranmaru**: Pardon me, but I'm on my way out so I can't be a proper host.
**Player**: On your way out?
**Ranmaru**: To visit my master's grave.
**Ranmaru**: I have not gone in 40 years because I've been either too busy dying or too busy slumbering.
**Ranmaru**: Today is the anniversary of his passing. I must pay my respect.
*Choices start*

**-Choice A - I didn't know you had a master...**

**Ranmaru**: I've indeed never mentioned it, since it's been more than a hundred years ago.
**Ranmaru**: His name was Takanobu Takenaka, founder of the Takenaka Dojo.
**Ranmaru**: I started learning swordplay from him when I was 7 until age of 25, and left once my Gyee identity became known.
**Ranmaru**: He was not just my master, but also the only one to accept me as a Gyee at that time.
**Ranmaru**: I'll never forget that.
*Go back to Choices start*

**-Choice B - Oh, why is there an inky scent in your house?**

**Ranmaru**: I'm writing a book of Kendo, and the ink hasn't yet dried.
**Ranmaru**: I want to express my thoughts on the Arcane Swordplay and its techniques for the generations to come.
*Choice B.1 - This is the stuff of legends!*
**Ranmaru**: I wouldn't call it that... Anyone can read it once it's done.
**Ranmaru**: Swordplay should be passed on. Hoarding secrets will only lead to the art's demise.
**Ranmaru**: Therefore, I'm putting everything I know and learned into this book without holding anything back.
*Choice B.2 - May I read it after you're finished? - 5 Intimacy*
**Ranmaru**: Why not, right?
**Ranmaru**: I'd like you to review the completed manuscript, so I can make proper revisions.
**Player**: I don't know much about Kendo, though... Will I be able to understand?
**Ranmaru**: It's all right, it delves beyond just kendo.
**Ranmaru**: Kendo is essentially the philosophy about values and the world.
**Ranmaru**: Once you grasp the meaning behind kendo, you'll understand values and the world.
**Ranmaru**: Thus, the book should benefit you even if you know nothing about Swordplay.
*Conversation continues after choices*
*Go back to Choices start*

**-Choice C - What do you mean by 'Too busy dying'?**

**Ranmaru**: 37 years ago, I fought my way out of the Shadow Realm. It then took a 20-year-long slumber for me to recuperate from the wounds I suffered.
**Player**: Shadow Realm?
**Player**: I've heard of it, isn't that in the western Loong Mountains?
**Ranmaru**: Kind of.
**Player**: Kind of?
**Ranmaru**: I'll explain at a more appropriate time.
**Ranmaru**: I woke up just in time for the Battle of Azria.
**Ranmaru**: I did something dangerous to put me in a coma for 15 years, but that also permanently riddled me of the slumber problem.
**Player**: What dangerous thing did you do?
**Ranmaru**: I charged into an exploding Light Nexus?
**Player**: W... what?!
**Ranmaru**: I've had too many regrets because of the slumbers.
**Ranmaru**: The only way to end it was to cleanse myself with a massive flux.
**Ranmaru**: So I took the risk and, luckily, I survived.
**Player**: (Wow, that's reckless to the max, and he's so casual about it...)
*Go back to Choices start*

**-Choice D - Should I take you in an airship? - 8 Intimacy**

**Ranmaru**: Is it the flying ship with wings you rode on last time?
**Player**: Yes. Airship is easier and saves time.
**Ranmaru**: That sounds good. Thank you.
*Go to Part 2*

**-Part 2**

*Scene - Airship control room*
**Ranmaru**: This is interesting, like I'm in a completely alien world.
**Ranmaru**: So the furnishing is all 'high tech'?
**Player**: Yeah.
**Player**: Though we don't call it furnishing but complex 'apparatuses'.
**Ranmaru**: Apparatuses'? Okay, got it.
**Ranmaru**: When I was in Azria, Lord Az was very interested in new technology, or 'apparatuses', as you said.
**Ranmaru**: Such as firearms, telescopes, power looms, and so on.
**Ranmaru**: He would be so excited if he could be here to see all this right now.
*Choices start*

**-Choice A - You address him as 'Lord'?**

**Ranmaru**: Yes.
**Ranmaru**: Although we are friends and I am older than him...
**Ranmaru**: I did swear fealty to him, and he is someone I truly respect.
**Ranmaru**: So I prefer to address him thusly.
**Ranmaru**: He didn't like that too much, however, and would rather me call him Az.
*Go back to Choices start*

**-Choice B - I can introduce him to Turing once he returns.**

**Ranmaru**: Turing?
**Player**: He invented and built this airship.
**Ranmaru**: Then he deserves an appellation for his genius and skills!
**Ranmaru**: Where may I find this Master Turing?
**Player**: He's on Never Isle.
**Ranmaru**: Oh... It's not quite the time for me to set foot there yet, unfortunately.
**Ranmaru**: But I shall visit him at the earliest opportunity.
*Go back to Choices start*

**-Choice C - Firearms and telescopes aren't actually apparatuses. - 5 Intimacy**

**Ranmaru**: Oh? Please elaborate.
**Player**: Only devices that operate individually within a large machine like an airship are called 'apparatuses'.
**Player**: Such as the console before you that navigates and guides the ship to its destination.
**Ranmaru**: Ah... Is it sensible for me to equate thusly, then...
**Ranmaru**: That apparatuses are to a machine what organs are to a body?
**Player**: That's right!
**Ranmaru**: Thank you for the explanation, so I won't make a fool of myself in the future.
*Go back to Choices start*

**-Choice D - Would you like to try flying the ship?**

**Ranmaru**: Me?
**Ranmaru**: It sounds specialized and I have no training.
**Player**: No problem, it's actually very easy. Just follow my instructions and you'll be fine!
**Ranmaru**: Okay, so where do I start?
**Player**: Before you is the console, tap 'Select Destination'.
**Ranmaru**: Tap'? You mean with a finger? How hard?
**Player**: Um, not too hard, just a light tap.
**Ranmaru**: Is this a map of Luxium?
**Player**: Yeah, you're right!
**Ranmaru**: How is this possible? Did you inject glowing materials into a transparent crystal?
**Player**: Well, the lights actually came from electronic components... I don't really understand them, myself.
**Player**: Just tap where you want to go on the map, then tap 'Start Navigating' and that's it!
**Ranmaru**: Okay. Let's go to a teahouse first to buy some tea as an offering.
**Ranmaru**: There's a teahouse near the dojo, then we can just walk over.
**Ranmaru**: Also, this map is not complete. It's not showing a few little-known ancient landmarks.
**Ranmaru**: I will survey them in person later and offer you a detailed sketch as fare for this passage.
**Player**: That will be awesome! Thank you, Mr. Ranmaru!
**Ranmaru**: The airship seems to be moving!
**Ranmaru**: Did I succeed?
**Player**: Yes. We'll arrive soon enough!
**Ranmaru**: I can't believe it is so simple and easy...
**Ranmaru**: The world is changing at an exciting pace.
*Wait, the map shows the destination is in Red Harbor...*
*Is there indeed teahouses and Kendo Club in Red Harbor?*
*Billy never mentioned it, maybe because he never cared about it...*
*Or maybe because it's all in the past given the development in Red Harbor.*
*We're almost there. Let's go see.*
*Go to Part 3*

**-Part 3**

*Scene - Outside a bar*
**Ranmaru**: They finally renovated the teahouse, I see.
**Ranmaru**: But the overhaul might have changed the style too much...
**Player**: This doesn't look like a teahouse, Mr. Ranmaru.
**Ranmaru**: Well...
**Ranmaru**: That can't be, this is a business that's been around for centuries, after all.
*The hostess walks out to greet Ranmaru and Player*
**Hostess**: What would the two of you like?
**Ranmaru**: We'd like to order to-go, please.
**Ranmaru**: Please give me four ounces of green tea powder, preferably freshly made.
**Hostess**: Tea powder?
**Hostess**: We only offer wine, no tea.
**Ranmaru**: Pardon me, but is this the Yuxiduo Teahouse?
**Hostess**: Yuxiduo? What's that?
**Hostess**: Are you here for wine or not?
**Ranmaru**: \*Sighs\*, please give me some Sake, then. Thank you.
**Hostess**: You're not from here, are you?
**Ranmaru**: I...
**Hostess**: No one asks for sake in Red Harbor these days.
**Hostess**: We did get a case in years ago and still have bottles left, but they probably aren't good now.
**Ranmaru**: No, they aren't.
**Ranmaru**: Sorry to bother you, madam. Farewell.
**Hostess**: Okay.
*Ranmaru and Player walk away*
**Hostess**: What a strange fellow. Polite and called me 'madam', not used to that...
*Scene - A short distance from the bar*
**Player**: Mr. Ranmaru...
**Ranmaru**: Isn't is proper to observe etiquette between strangers? How can one not be used to it?
*Choice 1.1 - Well, she's in the service industry. - 8 Intimacy*
**Player**: Generally, it's the servers who are supposed to be polite toward the customers.
**Player**: If the customers show more manner, the servers naturally would find it odd.
**Player**: It's a discomfort quite like if you were flattered out of the blue.
**Player**: Not that it's bad or anything.
**Ranmaru**: It isn't? Thanks for letting me know.
*Choice 1.2 - People tend to neglect etiquette more and more now. - 5 Intimacy*
**Ranmaru**: How can that be?
**Ranmaru**: A man without etiquette is a man untrustworthy!
**Ranmaru**: If there is no manners, how can people live with each other?
**Player**: Uh...
**Ranmaru**: Sorry, I know you meant well.
**Ranmaru**: I just need to relearn about the world.
*Conversation continues after choices*
**Ranmaru**: I guess very few people remember 'Scarlet Wharf' now?
**Player**: Scarlet Wharf? Is that the old name for Red Harbor?
**Ranmaru**: That name was hardly in use when I came back 40-some years ago.
**Ranmaru**: Perhaps Scarlet Wharf is not just in Red Harbor's past but another place entirely.
**Ranmaru**: Let's go.

**-Choice A - Okay.**

*Go to Part 7*

**-Choice B - Wait, why don't...**

*Choice B.1 - I go buy some sake? - 8 Intimacy*
*Go to Part 4*
*Choice B.2 - How about a drink at the Hottie Bar?*
*Go to Part 5*
*Choice B.3 - I have other drinks.*
*Go to Part 6*

**-Part 4**

**Player**: Wait, why don't I go buy some sake?
**Ranmaru**: Where? I'll go with you!
**Player**: Never Isle, from the swordsman named Lan.
**Player**: Maybe he has green tea powder we can buy off him too.
**Player**: But I remember you mentioned now is not the time for you to go on the island.
**Ranmaru**: That's right, I must go another day.
**Ranmaru**: I'll have to trouble you, in that case.
*All Choices - "No trouble at all!" OR "Please wait here and don't go anywhere."*
*No additional dialog*
*Conversation continues after choices*
**Ranmaru**: Wait, here's money for the sake.
*Ranmaru hands over eight coins.*
*These coins seem to be pure silver and feel hefty...*
*And someone like Mr. Ranmaru would never give less than he should.*
**Ranmaru**: Don't know if these coins are still traded, but someone will want them since they're made of silver.
*Choice 1.1 - You gave me too much.*
**Ranmaru**: Take it, you're making the trip, after all.
**Player**: All right then, I'm off.
**Ranmaru**: Thanks.
*Choice 1.2 - It's okay, I can pay.*
**Ranmaru**: No, I can't in good conscience let you do the legwork and pay, as well.
**Ranmaru**: You must accept, please.
**Player**: All right then, I'm off.
**Ranmaru**: Thanks.
*Choice 1.3 - This will do. I'm off! - 5 Intimacy*
**Ranmaru**: Thanks.
*Conversation continues after choices*
*Scene - Never Isle*
**Player**: Do you have any wine left, Master Lan?
**Lan**: Of course! Why, got time to have a drink with me today?

**-Choice 2.1 - A friend asked me to buy some.**

**Lan**: I make my own wines but don't sell them.
**Lan**: Friends can come and take it anytime, free of charge.
**Lan**: But I don't know your friend.
**Player**: I'm sorry, Master Lan, but my friend really does have an urgent need of it.
**Lan**: Well, in that case, I'll make an exception.
**Lan**: What and how much do you want?
**Player**: Thanks, Master Lan! He wanted a jug of sake, and four ounces of green tea powder if you got that!
**Player**: This is payment from him.
*Pull out the eight coins.*
**Lan**: What the...
**Player**: Something wrong, Master Lan?
**Lan**: This is not money...
**Lan**: These are priceless collectible, ones I've only seen from my grandfather!
**Lan**: Who is your friend, anyway?
**Lan**: To be able to get these, and early pure-silver Azrian coins yet...
**Lan**: And spends eight of them at once, just for sake and tea!
**Player**: Are the coins that valuable?
**Lan**: More than you know.
**Lan**: These silver coins aren't just valuable, they represent the glory of their era.
**Lan**: Not to mention very few survived the destruction of Azria.
**Lan**: What's left become the rarest of the rares, practically fetching a king's ransom...
**Player**: (So Mr. Ranmaru is actually rich... He probably doesn't even know it.)
**Lan**: I got both sake and tea for you.
**Lan**: But I can't take these, not even one. They're too precious.
**Lan**: Take them back to your friend.

**-Choice 2.2 - I want some of that good wine I had last time for the road.**

**Lan**: Cool, if you're fine with it.
**Lan**: Remember, though, don't drink and fly!
**Player**: Thank you, Master Lan. I need a jug of sake, and green tea powder if you got it!
**Lan**: You got good taste there.
**Lan**: I do have green tea powder. I'll get it for you.
**Player**: I can't take it for free, so let me pay you with some coins I found.
*Pull out the eight coins.*
**Lan**: What the...
**Player**: Something wrong, Master Lan?
**Lan**: This is not your average money, put that away!
**Lan**: These coins were minted out of pure silver during the early years of Azria in scarce quantity.
**Lan**: They represent that era and shared Azria's glory, as well as its destruction.
**Lan**: Can you imagine the value for these collectibles now?
**Lan**: Not to mention very few survived the destruction of Azria.
**Lan**: What's left become the rarest of the rares, practically fetching a king's ransom...
**Player**: (So Mr. Ranmaru is actually rich... He probably doesn't even know it.)
**Lan**: They're far too precious and valuable. You keep them safe and don't lose them.
**Player**: But I still got to pay...
**Lan**: You showing them to me is enough.
**Lan**: Wait here, I'll go get the sake and powder for you.

*Conversation continues after choices*
*Lan brings sake and tea powder a short time later.*
*Master Lan refused payment, so head back to Red Harbor.*
**Ranmaru**: Did you get it?
**Player**: Yes, a jug of sake, four ounces of tea powder, it's all here.
**Ranmaru**: The fresh scent and clarity could only come from quality ingredients...
**Ranmaru**: The powder, verdant emerald, exquisite grounded... and the scent...
**Player**: What about it?
**Ranmaru**: Intricate, very intricate.
**Ranmaru**: I have not tasted this yet, but the texture and scent rival that of Yuxiduo's powder.
**Ranmaru**: But I feel bad spending merely eight coins for such fine offerings, in urgency yet.
**Player**: Um, actually...
*Pull out the eight coins.*
**Ranmaru**: What is this?
*Describe what happened.*
**Player**: These coins are far too valuable for us to accept.
**Ranmaru**: Oh. But even though they're a treasure, they're useless to me.
*Choice 3.1 - Money is needed for munitions and aiding refugees. - 8 Intimacy*
**Player**: The war against Shadow is imminent and we'll need to recruit soldiers.
**Player**: You can trade the coins for money and help the cause.
**Player**: There will also be many refugees of war, whose homes are destroyed by the Shadow.
**Player**: We'll need money to shelter them.
**Ranmaru**: Very fine, considerate points you just made.
**Ranmaru**: We'll do that.
**Player**: Since we have the sake and tea, let's make our way to the dojo.
**Ranmaru**: Let's go.
*Go to Part 7*
*Choice 3.2 - You can give it to him in person when you visit the island.*
**Ranmaru**: It's the best option.
**Player**: Since we have the sake and tea, let's make our way to the dojo.
**Ranmaru**: Let's go.
*Go to Part 7*

**-Part 5**

**Player**: Wait, how about a drink at the Hottie Bar?
**Ranmaru**: I know not of this 'drink' you speak...
**Ranmaru**: Is it a libation made with the tail feathers of a cock?
**Player**: No, it's a mix of several alcoholic spirits and fruit juice blended through shaking.
**Player**: It looks nice and tastes good, popular with young modern-day men.
**Ranmaru**: I'm open to trying anything new.
**Ranmaru**: But my master was considerably old-fashioned...
**Player**: How about I make you a shot, and if you approve, I'll make your master a shot, too.
**Ranmaru**: Wonderful idea. Thank you.
*Scene - Hottie Bar*
**Player**: This is the Hottie Bar I mentioned. Gorgeous, ain't it?
**Ranmaru**: Very exquisite, it's like another world here in the airship...
**Ranmaru**: Oh, I'm sorry for the rudeness.
**Player**: Huh?
**Ranmaru**: My name is Ranmaru. To whom do I have the pleasure to speaking?
**Player**: Don't you recognize me, sir?
**Ranmaru**: Not you but the fine fellow next to you.
**Ranmaru**: Why did he not respond?
*Choice 1.1 - What, is there a ghost around here?*
**Ranmaru**: I'm not sure. He has a rather weird appearance, wearing an iron mask, not very tall...
**Player**: Oh, you mean the robot bartender!
*Choice 1.2 - Um, you mean the robot bartender?*
*No additional dialog*
*Conversation continues after choices*
**Ranmaru**: Robot bartender?
**Player**: Yes. It's actually an 'apparatus' and not human, just resembled one.
**Ranmaru**: Oh. I see I've embarrassed myself again.
**Player**: This robot is multi-functional, such as mixing drinks, washing glasses, and even plays music.
**Player**: In fact, it's playing and controlling the tune we're hearing now.
**Ranmaru**: So, you built this space just for drinking and listening to music?
**Player**: It's for bathing too, like the pool behind you.
**Ranmaru**: But you can bathe in a river or stream, even with water from the well.
**Ranmaru**: Why squander effort and resources to build something for that exact purpose?
**Ranmaru**: In addition, flying animals are usually lighter than their groundbound counterparts...
**Ranmaru**: Since would take a lot more energy to fly when it's heavy. It's the same for airships, I assume?
**Ranmaru**: This pool is already big and, judging from the constant running water, must have an enormous reservoir.
**Ranmaru**: I'd venture to say the ship would fly faster and higher without such extravagance.
**Player**: Your analysis is correct, sir.
**Ranmaru**: Did you really create the Hottie Bar just to drink and bathe?

**-Choice A - Drinking and bathing are important too.**

**Player**: All this is for R&R. It's more effective fighting the Shadow with a recharged mind!
**Player**: Plus, it builds rapport to drink, chat, dip in a hot tub with friends.
**Player**: Yes, it does cost more fuel, but...
**Player**: It's worth it for the mental relief and camaraderie, which are priceless.
**Ranmaru**: You have a point there...
**Ranmaru**: However, it's more valid for someone old who's worked his entire life.
**Ranmaru**: But you're still young.
**Ranmaru**: Too much pleasure too soon without putting in the work is not a good thing...
**Player**: (Guess this is what we call the 'generation gap', and a big one at that. I'll humor him...)
*Choice A1.1 - Yes, sir, I shall keep that in mind. - 8 Intimacy*
**Ranmaru**: It's good that you'd accept the advice.
**Ranmaru**: I was worried you might react negatively.
*Choice A1.2 - Don't worry, we'll take it in moderation. - 5 Intimacy*
**Ranmaru**: You're a good kid. I can stop worrying.
**Ranmaru**: Good. Kids these days rarely listen to advice from old people.

**-Choice B - It's for socializing with friends.**

**Player**: There a proverb:
*Choice B1.1 - 'There's strength in numbers.' - 8 Intimacy*
**Player**: One will have a hard time fighting the Shadow alone without friends.
**Player**: I simply cannot neglect comrades in this battle.
**Ranmaru**: Exactly, one must not mistreat friends.
**Ranmaru**: If it's for camaraderie, I'll consider the Hottie Bar a necessity.
*Choice B1.2 - 'Make friends, not enemies.' - 11 Intimacy*
**Player**: 'Brutality, loyalty, camaraderie!'
**Ranmaru**: Wait, what?
**Ranmaru**: Okay, so brutality is not quite good, but we are young and hot-blooded.
**Ranmaru**: I do agree very much with the latter two, however.
**Ranmaru**: Loyalty comes first before everything.
**Ranmaru**: Loyalty is more important than life.
**Ranmaru**: You can't neglect a friend, much less betray one.
**Ranmaru**: If it's for camaraderie, I'll consider the Hottie Bar a necessity.
*Choice B1.3 - 'It's not what you know but who you know.' - 5 Intimacy*
**Ranmaru**: That is so true.
**Ranmaru**: But it is also what I need to learn the most.
**Ranmaru**: Perhaps because I'm a martial artist, I found it hard for me to do.
**Ranmaru**: If it's for camaraderie, I'll consider the Hottie Bar a necessity.

**-Choice C - Uh, it's for... research. Yeah.**

**Ranmaru**: Research?
**Player**: Yeah, and a challenge too.
**Player**: No one has done anything like the Hottie Bar, or thought it would be possible.
**Player**: The problem is...

**-Choice C1.1 - Power consumption. - 5 Intimacy**

**Player**: Because a bar with a pool will be too bulky for a light vehicle like the airship.
**Player**: Such implementation will consume a lot of power, while...
**Player**: The speed must be reduced to avoid over-taxing the engine, rendering even a cutting-edge airship impractical.
**Ranmaru**: How is problem solved?
*Choice C1.1.1 - Have you ever seen a waterwheel?*
**Ranmaru**: Of course, I built one myself.
**Ranmaru**: A waterwheel uses power from the water flow to deliver water.
**Ranmaru**: Are you saying this pool functions on principles similar to the waterwheel?
**Player**: Yes.
**Player**: The water recycles in the pool just like a waterwheel and also helps power the ship.
**Ranmaru**: But...
**Ranmaru**: Even as a waterwheel, the pool still consumes more power than it puts out.
**Ranmaru**: Given the pool is suspended in air, it is impossible for the power to be self-sustained.
**Player**: (Oops, he saw right through the BS!)
**Ranmaru**: Perhaps there's another technology at work beyond the comprehension of this old mind.
*Choice C1.1.2 - Have you seen steam lifting the lid of a boiling pot? - 5 Intimacy*
**Ranmaru**: That only happened to poorly made pot...
**Ranmaru**: Wait, are you saying steam can be a source of power?
**Player**: Exactly.
**Player**: Airship flight requires fuel, and engines do get hot when they run.
**Player**: The heat can be converted to power, just like water expands as vapor when it's hot and lifts the lid.
**Player**: As well, water can absorb a lot of heat so it can keep the engines from overheating at the same time.
**Player**: Thus killing two birds with one stone.
**Ranmaru**: That makes sense.
**Ranmaru**: I see the new generation is innovative beyond my imagination.

**-Choice C1.2 - Balance issues. - 8 Intimacy**

**Player**: Power consumption is actually a minor problem that can be solved with constant advancement.
**Player**: But balance, on the other hand, is a key issue directly impacting the ship's safety.
**Ranmaru**: Are you saying that a gale could blow the pool water all to one end?
**Ranmaru**: That would be a disaster!
**Player**: Yes, that would upset balance and may cause the ship to lose control, possibly crash.
**Ranmaru**: So how was this issue resolved?
**Player**: About the flow of water...
*Choice C1.2.1 - It must be closely controlled.*
**Player**: In that case, the water is pumped from the pool to the reservoir below.
**Player**: With the water going nowhere, balance is restored.
**Ranmaru**: Yes, control a problem at its root.
*Choice C1.2.2 - It must be capitalized. - 5 Intimacy*
**Player**: If the water must flow, let it flow where we want it to.
**Player**: The valves and tanks beneath Hottie Bar regulate how the water flows.
**Player**: It's closely monitored and also indicates the ship's stability in flight.
**Player**: Therefore, the flowing water actually is a key to the ship's operation.
**Player**: Balance is distributed evenly through the hull with pulleys, levers and other devices.
**Player**: When a wind blows and the ship starts to deviate, these devices react to the water flow and adjust for balance accordingly.
**Ranmaru**: How marvelous!
**Ranmaru**: I mentioned in my book that Kendo is like water.
**Ranmaru**: Water can adapt to the shape of any container. It can be a raindrop, or it can make oceans.
**Ranmaru**: But my idea on its applications cannot hope to rival that of Master Turing.
**Ranmaru**: Very impressive.
**Ranmaru**: I must visit sometime and learn from him.

*Conversation continues after choices*
**Ranmaru**: There are far more issues in creating an airship than I could imagine.
**Player**: That is true, but Master Turing loved challenges and never backed down.
**Player**: He would find problem even when there was none.
*Choice C1.3.1 - He's just that willful. - 5 Intimacy*
**Ranmaru**: Yes, but that's exactly the kind of people we need in the world.
**Ranmaru**: Willfulness is what martial artists like me need to accomplish anything, too.
**Ranmaru**: The universe operates on many same underlying principles, and I must learn new concepts.
*Choice C1.3.2 - That is the 'scientific spirit'. - 8 Intimacy*
**Player**: The more impossible and unpopular it seems, the more we want to persist and achieve it.
**Player**: Unprecedented, unimagined inventions could only be a reality through scientific spirit.
**Ranmaru**: You're right. The mindset is not just for science, but martial arts as well!
**Ranmaru**: The universe operates on many same underlying principles, and I must learn new concepts.

*Conversation continues after choices*
**Ranmaru**: Huh, we've been chatting so long, I almost forgot...
**Ranmaru**: We should make the 'drinks'.
**Player**: I got the basics ready, so we can start mixing.

**-Choice D - (Make a classic Twilight Creek) - 11 Intimacy**

*Ranmaru tastes the Twilight Creek with a pregnant pause.*
**Ranmaru**: ...
**Player**: What do you think, Mr. Ranmaru?
**Ranmaru**: It started off sweet, then turned sour with bitterness.
**Ranmaru**: The sour bitterness hit the spot and made the mouth water, so I took another sip.
**Ranmaru**: The sweet then returned amid bitterness when it hit the throat.
**Ranmaru**: Does this have a name?
**Player**: It's called Twilight Creek.
**Ranmaru**: Twilight Creek...
**Ranmaru**: A very provocative image.
**Ranmaru**: The taste intoxicates you, not the alcohol, very well done.
**Ranmaru**: My master would love it.
**Player**: Terrific!

**-Choice E - (Make a stacked Dusk & Dawn) - 5 Intimacy**

*Ranmaru tastes the Dusk & Dawn...*
**Ranmaru**: The name implied the hues of dusk and dawn, right?
**Ranmaru**: Why is it called Dust and Don?
**Ranmaru**: No, it's Dusk and Dawn.
**Player**: That's right, that is the name.
*Ranmaru takes a sip.*
**Player**: What do you think, Mr. Ranmaru?
**Ranmaru**: A day cycles from dawn to dusk, but life, as well.
**Ranmaru**: It ran a gamut of flavors to envoke various emotions, nicely done.
**Ranmaru**: But it has too many flavors and diluted the essence.
**Ranmaru**: So the 'dawn' was missing the warmth, and sans loneliness for the 'dusk'.
**Ranmaru**: It has flaws to prevent it from being perfect.
**Player**: A fine assessment, sir.
**Ranmaru**: However, it is still good enough to be an offering.
**Player**: Ok!

**-Choice F - (Make a radiant Blinding Light) - 8 Intimacy**

*Ranmaru gazes at Blinding Light with wide eyes, not entirely believing it's a drink.*
*He gingerly takes the glass after a long pause.*
**Ranmaru**: What is this?
**Player**: It's Blinding Light, very difficult to make!
**Ranmaru**: It does seem that way...
**Ranmaru**: Is that ice in there?
**Player**: Yes, it's actually frozen liquor that gives off a pure white glow as it melts.
**Player**: The blinding light refers to that simple yet rich white glow.
**Player**: It would be one taste before the ice melts, and another afterward.
**Ranmaru**: Wow, I've never seen anything like this!
**Ranmaru**: We must leave quickly.
**Ranmaru**: We should try to make it to the dojo before the ice finish melting.

*Conversation continues after choices*
**Player**: Then let's go!
**Ranmaru**: Wait, I need to pay for this...
**Player**: It's all right, just a shot. I can make it for you anytime!
**Ranmaru**: All right, I shall accept the hospitality. Thank you. Let's go.
*Go to Part 7*

**-Part 6**

**Player**: Wait, I have other drinks.
**Player**: (Let me see... There isn't much here.)
*Choices start*

**-Choice A - Bromance Coffee. - 11 Intimacy**

**Ranmaru**: This has a faint yet very palpable scent.
**Player**: It's called coffee, very popular in our world.
**Player**: Like tea, it's derived from plants.
**Player**: It's ground-up roasted 'coffee' beans boiled in hot water.
**Ranmaru**: Am I right in assuming 'coffee' is short for 'coffee soy milk'?
**Player**: Well, I guess you could technically call it that...
**Player**: Have a sip, Mr. Ranmaru.
*Ranmarus takes a sip.*
**Ranmaru**: Hmm, it tastes a lot different from the normal soy milk.
**Ranmaru**: Sweet with bitterness, and a tinge sour.
**Ranmaru**: No, it's actually bitter with sweetness, and just the right level of sour...
**Ranmaru**: The faint sweetness lingers between the bitter and the sour.
**Ranmaru**: It's a shame the sugar covered up much of the natural taste...
**Player**: So you like the Americano.
**Ranmaru**: Americano?
**Player**: Yeah, coffee with no sugar added.
**Ranmaru**: Yes, it shouldn't have sugar at all.
**Ranmaru**: Only such natural flavor deserves to be called 'beautiful'.
**Ranmaru**: Americano is a very apt name!
**Ranmaru**: Do you have Americano coffee?
**Player**: Yes.
**Ranmaru**: Good, I shall make an offering of Americano to my master.
**Player**: Okay, let's set off then.
**Ranmaru**: Wait, I have to pay...
**Player**: It's okay. It's just drinks and negligible.
**Ranmaru**: All right, I shall accept the hospitality. Thank you. Let's go.
*Go to Part 7*

**-Choice B - Iced Coke. - 5 Intimacy**

**Ranmaru**: What's this?
**Player**: It's called cola, very refreshing. You'll find out when you try.
*Hand cola to Ranmaru.*
*Ranmaru opens the cap and the bottle bubbles.*
*Ranmaru is fixated on the bubbles with a nervous expression.*
*The bubbles overflow and partially drip over Ranmaru's hand.*
*Ranmaru wipes it with a fingertip and smells it.*
*He then ventures a small sip.*
*And frowns.*
**Ranmaru**: It's medicinal syrup.
*Ranmaru takes another gulp and carefully swooshes again.*
**Ranmaru**: The components are sugar, cinnamon... and lemon?
**Ranmaru**: I also taste cocaine leaf... and vanilla?
**Ranmaru**: The composition is too complex for me to dissect at the moment.
**Ranmaru**: But it's impossible for these ingredients to produce so much gas bubble.
**Ranmaru**: Besides, I can't discern any medicinal effect, as if the components are merely seasoning.
**Player**: Well, it's not a medicine, just a cool tasty drink.
**Player**: Cocaine leaf is what perks you up, hence it's called 'cola'.
**Ranmaru**: Oh. But...
**Ranmaru**: I don't think it's tasty, nor do I feel 'perked up'.
**Player**: Different strokes, I guess.
**Ranmaru**: It's going to be that way with any new thing, but perhaps my master will like it.
**Ranmaru**: Since you brought it, let's bring it to him.
**Player**: Okay, let's set off then.
**Ranmaru**: Wait, I have to pay...
**Player**: It's okay. It's just drinks and negligible.
**Ranmaru**: All right, I shall accept the hospitality. Thank you. Let's go.
*Go to Part 7*

**-Choice C - Heather tea. - 11 Intimacy**

**Ranmaru**: This is heather tea.
**Player**: You seem to be enjoying it.
**Ranmaru**: Yes. It's bitter but not too much, with trace of sweetness like almonds, as well as a rosy taste.
**Ranmaru**: It certainly has medicinal properties and should help your digestion.
**Ranmaru**: Tea is not the best use for heather. It goes best with spirits as medicine.
**Ranmaru**: Soak the flower in liquor and take it to relieve migraine. Mix pulped young leaves with Formrate wine to cure rubella.
**Ranmaru**: Of course, the blossoms carried an odor, but it's tolerable.
**Ranmaru**: Heather often grew in the barrens or mountains, sometimes even in rock crevices.
**Ranmaru**: It would bloom in the direction of a gale or pouring rain.
**Ranmaru**: It endures all four seasons through extreme weathers with equal aplomb.
**Ranmaru**: I admire the resilience.
**Ranmaru**: But my master was fond of heathers for a different reason.
**Ranmaru**: When we trained in the wild, we watched lone heathers bloomed and withered.
**Ranmaru**: Yet it bore aromatic seeds after withering.
**Ranmaru**: My master fell for the lonely defiance to fate.
**Ranmaru**: In retrospect, maybe it's destined to be alone because it is resilient.
**Ranmaru**: That's too much sentiment for one day. Let's bring the heather tea.
**Player**: Okay, let's set off then.
**Ranmaru**: Wait, I have to pay...
**Player**: It's okay. It's just drinks and negligible.
**Ranmaru**: All right, I shall accept the hospitality. Thank you. Let's go.
*Go to Part 7*

**-Choice D - Vensa Lubricant. - 11 Intimacy**

**Ranmaru**: What's this?
**Player**: Sorry, got the wrong thing!
*Go back to Choices start*

**-Part 7**

*Scene - A factory*
**Player**: (This place seems somewhat familiar...)
**Ranmaru**: I can't believe it, even the dojo...
**Ranmaru**: The Takenaka Dojo has hundreds of years of history, and now it's... a workshop.
**Worker**: What are you calling a workshop? This is a factory, a heavy machine factory!
**Worker**: Stop loitering around, you bumpkin!
**Ranmaru**: Pardon the intrusion, sir.
**Ranmaru**: But we did not come to provoke or seek a fight, so please keep it civil.
**Worker**: Sir? You're an interesting one, aren't you?
**Worker**: So why are you here?
**Ranmaru**: Have you heard of the Takenaka Dojo, sir?
**Worker**: I should've known you're from a Kendo Club by the way you dress!
**Worker**: This was a dojo about a dozen years or so ago, the last in Red Harbor, in fact.
**Ranmaru**: You mean there isn't any Kendo Club left in town?
**Worker**: That's right, they're long gone.
**Worker**: Swords and kendo have long been obsolete.
**Worker**: The White Capes called themselves the 'Sword of Light', but I never saw one actually swing a blade.
**Worker**: They used guns, blasters, magic staves...
**Worker**: Nowadays, swords are for those who can't learn magic nor afford firearms.
**Worker**: The last Kendo was bought by Mr. Dick and converted to a factory a decade back.
**Player**: (So this is Dick's factory, looks like we crossed paths again.)
**Ranmaru**: Ah, I see.
**Ranmaru**: Would you mind informing Mr. Dick that I would like to see him?
**Ranmaru**: Appreciate it much.
**Worker**: Well, seeing you're so polite, I'll do you the favor. Just wait here.
*The worker walks off*
**Ranmaru**: Etiquette is not totally useless after all.
*Choice 1.1 - You don't have to be so polite with people like him.*
**Ranmaru**: Oh? Why do you say that?
**Player**: This Dick fellow hates Gyee.
**Player**: He even confined Master Turing once.
**Player**: We had run-ins with him, and he wanted us dead back then.
**Player**: Not to mention he demolished the dojo for a factory. He doesn't deserve anything.
**Ranmaru**: Understood.
**Ranmaru**: But the dojo would not have been sold if the owner had the will.
**Ranmaru**: We're not here to start trouble, so do not be rash.
**Ranmaru**: But of course, that doesn't mean I won't defend myself.
*Choice 1.2 - Better take cautions, sir. - 5 Intimacy*
**Player**: This Dick fellow hates Gyee.
**Player**: He even confined Master Turing once.
**Player**: We had run-ins with him, and he wanted us dead back then.
**Player**: He also has Turing's new, powerful robot beasts.
**Ranmaru**: Worry not, I can protect you.
**Ranmaru**: But we're not here to start trouble, so don't be rash.
**Player**: Got it.
*Conversation continues after choices*
*The worker comes back*
**Worker**: Hey you two, Mr. Dick will see you now.
**Worker**: Follow me.
**Ranmaru**: Thank you.
**Worker**: (whispers to you) The boss seems to know you're Gyee.
**Worker**: (whispers to Ranmaru) You're with him. You wouldn't be Gyee too, would you?
**Ranmaru**: Yes, I am Gyee.
**Worker**: (whispers) Not so loud, you want to die or something?
**Worker**: (whispers) I suggest you leave, Mr. Dick called for a lot of bodyguards...
**Worker**: (whispers) And also a huge...
**Ranmaru**: Thank you, but please lead the way.
**Worker**: \*sighs\*...
*The worker leads Ranmaru and Player to meet Dick. Dick is guarded by four bodyguards and a giant robot*
**Ranmaru**: Greetings, I am Ranmaru of the Takenaka Dojo, student of Master Takanobu Takenaka...
**Dick**: I knew it was you!
**Ranmaru**: We've never met, Mr. Dick, why do you act...
**Dick**: I let you slip away last time. It won't happen again!
**Ranmaru**: It is me who wished to speak with you, Mr. Dick.
**Dick**: Who the hell are you?
**Dick**: Oh, you're with that crappy dojo! What, do you have amnesia?
**Dick**: That you would dare come here!
**Dick**: I don't have time for you right now.
**Dick**: Arrest him!
**Ranmaru**: Hold it!
**Ranmaru**: We didn't come to provoke or fight.
**Ranmaru**: So please set past grievances aside for the time being, Mr. Dick...
**Dick**: Are you done yapping?
**Dick**: Keep talking and I'll get you too!
**Ranmaru**: You're threatening my friend here...
**Dick**: Shut up!
**Dick**: Arrest them all!
*Ranmaru and Player fight against the bodyguards and giant robot*
*Ranmaru takes down the robot in one hit*
**Player**: So powerfull...
*Ranmaru breaks through the line of bodyguards and faces Dick*
**Ranmaru**: I did say I didn't want to fight.
**Worker**: Oh my... He is powerful, and I called him a bumpkin...
**Bodyguard A**: What happened?
**Bodyguard B**: He's nearby...
**Bodyguard C**: Don't turn around or we're gonna die!
**Dick**: You're supposed to protect me!
**Ranmaru**: That's not necessary.
**Ranmaru**: I don't kill those who can't fight.
**Dick**: Why you aren't even moving!
**Bodyguard A**: He already said he's not gonna kill you, boss...
**Bodyguard B**: Yeah, you might not be a fighter, but we are!
**Dick**: Whose side are you on? I'm your boss!
**Dick**: Do you still wanna get paid?!
**Player**: Please take a break, gentlemen.
**Bodyguard C**: Good idea. We'll do that now!
*The bodyguards run away*
**Dick**: Why you...!
**Dick**: I'm sorry, master, I won't do it again!
**Ranmaru**: I'm just a warrior, not a master.
**Dick**: I, I really didn't mean to offend you, sir!
**Dick**: I just had too much drink and not my usual self!
**Player**: It's noon right now.
**Dick**: Uh, well, I've been drinking since early morning, yeah...
**Dick**: I'm normally very mannerly!
**Player**: Is that so? How come I never noticed?
**Player**: Who was it that kept using the slur 'Yellow Eyes' and wanted Turing dead?
**Dick**: No, why would I try to kill Master Turing?
**Dick**: I mean, I at least hesitated... No, actually, I accidentally pressed the wrong button!
**Player**: Are you taking me for a fool?
**Dick**: It's true! If I really wanted Master Turing dead, I would've done it when you were fighting the robot beasts!
**Dick**: Also, I've always addressed you people as 'Mr. Gyee', never the yellow something you accused me of!
**Dick**: It's because you honorable Gyees trespassed my factory and made me angry, so I...
**Ranmaru**: Forget it. Compared to how he reacted to Gyee, this is as good as we're gonna get.
**Player**: But I heard people were still friendly toward Gyee before Azria fell.
**Ranmaru**: Though it wasn't like that before Azria's built.
**Ranmaru**: 'Yellow Eyes' must be recent slang. Back then, Gyee were often called queers or even bastards.
**Dick**: Before Azria was built?
**Player**: Stop asking questions you shouldn't be asking.
**Dick**: Yes, yes, I'll stop now, sorry!
**Ranmaru**: Where is Takanobu Takenaka's descendant now?
**Dick**: Who?
**Dick**: Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to ask!
**Dick**: But I really don't know who that is!
**Ranmaru**: The person who sold you the dojo.
**Dick**: I know, I know!
**Dick**: I'll take you to him!
**Ranmaru**: Thank you.
*Scene - Outside a house*
**Dick**: That's him, sir!
**Middle-aged Man**: Who is this, Mr. Dick?
**Dick**: This gentleman is from your dojo who probably hasn't been back for a long time.
**Dick**: He is Takano... something...
**Ranmaru**: You may leave now.
**Dick**: Yes, I shall, sir!
**Ranmaru**: I'm Takanobu Takenaka's student, Ranmaru.
**Middle-aged Man**: What?!
**Middle-aged Man**: Impossible! My great-great grandfather passed...
**Ranmaru**: How long ago?
**Middle-aged Man**: 87 years!
**Middle-aged Man**: Today is the anniversary of his passing!
**Ranmaru**: Not bad, there still seems to be conscience in you.
**Middle-aged Man**: Are you really...
**Middle-aged Man**: But... how is this possible?
*The man notices Ranmaru's kendo tare*
**Middle-aged Man**: Azria...
**Middle-aged Man**: He had only one Gyee pupil, so you must be the one he gave the Heming Kettle to?
**Ranmaru**: Yes.
**Middle-aged Man**: Although I did not know your name, I have heard a little bit about you.
**Middle-aged Man**: What can I do for you?
**Ranmaru**: Why did you sell the dojo?
**Middle-aged Man**: I...
**Ranmaru**: Why did you abandon kendo?
**Ranmaru**: Look at what you're wearing!
**Ranmaru**: Look at how bare your hands are!
**Ranmaru**: How could you sully your honorable ancestors and heritage?
**Middle-aged Man**: \*sighs\*... I did bring shame to the family name...
**Youth's Voice**: What's going on, father? More hooligans from the plant?
**Middle-aged Man**: Hold your horses and don't do anything stupid, Heming!
**Ranmaru**: Heming?
*A young boy walks out of the house*
**Heming**: I'm afraid of them! I'll show them the new spells I just learned...
**Player**: Are you a student from the Arcana Academy?
**Heming**: It's you again?
**Middle-aged Man**: You know each other?
**Heming**: Who doesn't know him on Never Isle?
**Heming**: Though he probably doesn't know me.
**Heming**: Let me introduce myself, I'm Heming Takenaka, a pupil of the Never Isle Arcana Academy.
**Heming**: And who are you?
**Heming**: Ranmaru of Azria?!
**Heming**: You're Master Ranmaru, the legendary swordsman, friend and protector of Lord Az!
**Ranmaru**: No need to be so formal.
**Ranmaru**: I've actually come here today as the student of your ancestor, Takanobu Takenaka.
**Heming**: Are you for real?
**Middle-aged Man**: I apologize for my son's rudeness, sir...
**Ranmaru**: He's fine, he has more fire than you.
**Ranmaru**: If I'm correct, it is because they found out he was Gyee and used that to...
**Ranmaru**: force you to sell the dojo, right?
**Middle-aged Man**: Yes, that's exactly it.
**Ranmaru**: Then why did you hide out here and not make a comeback?
**Heming**: The damn bastards from the factory cut off my father's hands!
**Player**: What? Why, that damn Dick!
**Heming**: Master Vundo found a powerful Ka healer to reattach them...
**Heming**: But he couldn't wield swords again.
**Ranmaru**: I'm sorry, I was too harsh.
**Ranmaru**: Let me see your hands.
**Ranmaru**: Magical healing could only reattach, not restoring ligaments and other finer parts.
**Ranmaru**: I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do.
**Middle-aged Man**: It's okay, sir, it's nothing anyone could do.
**Middle-aged Man**: Allow me to show you my family shrine.
**Ranmaru**: Thank you.
**Middle-aged Man**: This way, sir.
*Ranmaru walks into the house*
**Middle-aged Man**: We should leave them alone.
**Middle-aged Man**: Would you mind waiting outside for a while?
**Player**: Ok.
*Ranmaru returns after a while.*
**Middle-aged Man**: Will you stay for a meal, sir?
**Ranmaru**: Thank you, but I have to go.
**Ranmaru**: I did think of a way that could possibly restore functions in your hands.
**Heming**: Wonderful! What is it?
**Ranmaru**: A poison, actually, that rapidly shrivels up organs.
**Middle-aged Man**: Well...
**Ranmaru**: Let me get it and figure out how to remove the toxicity, then I'll come back.
**Middle-aged Man**: Thank you, Mr. Ranmaru!
**Ranmaru**: Also, don't mention me to anyone when you get back to Never Isle, Heming.
**Heming**: Got it! But why?
**Ranmaru**: You don't need to know the reason. Farewell.
**Heming**: Wait, Grandmaster Ranmaru!
**Ranmaru**: I told you we don't have to be so formal.
**Heming**: But I feel weird calling you sir when that's how my father addresses you.
**Heming**: If you don't like 'Grandmaster', how about if I called you...
**Heming**: My Master!
**Ranmaru**: What?!
**Middle-aged Man**: Stop your insolence right now, Heming!
**Heming**: I'm serious! Please take me as your student, Master Ranmaru!
**Heming**: I was born, raised and trained in a dojo before going to Never Isle to study Arcane.
**Heming**: I think I'm perfect for your 'Way of Arcane' Swordplay!
**Ranmaru**: The essence is neither in the arcane nor the sword.
**Ranmaru**: You're not ready yet.
*Ranmaru walks away*
**Player**: Are we leaving just like that?
*Player follows Ranmaru*
**Heming**: Sir...
*Scene - A short distance from the house*
**Player**: I think he's a good kid. Couldn't you help him get ready?
**Ranmaru**: He is not the issue, and I'm not ready myself.
**Player**: Why do you say that, Mr. Ranmaru?
**Player**: You're mighty enough to destroy that robot beast in one swing.
**Ranmaru**: But what if you stop?
**Ranmaru**: What are you if you quit now?
**Player**: Eh?
**Ranmaru**: You'll still be a hero with many allies.
**Ranmaru**: But me, I'm just an obsolete relic.
**Player**: ...
**Ranmaru**: A true teacher teaches more than techniques.
**Ranmaru**: I'm not good enough to teach yet.
*Scene ends*

## Audio

*Note: Skins will use the audio from the basic skin unless indicated otherwise.*

### Ranmaru's Basic Skin

* **Butler Interactions**
	+ Before Intimacy Level 7
		- **Head**: *I wasn't expecting you.*
		    ENG     CN     JP
		- **Torso**: *What does "workout" mean?*
		    ENG     CN     JP
		- **Waist**: *Know the sword and be free from it.*
		    ENG     CN     JP
	+ After reaching Intimacy Level 7
		- **Head**: *Do you know the person I'm searching for?*
		    ENG     CN     JP
		- **Torso**: *Hm? Did you feel anything?*
		    ENG     CN     JP
		- **Waist**: *Kendo is the way of the mind.*
		    ENG     CN     JP
* **Skills**
	+ **Basic**: *Ha! Hyah! Hmph!*
	    ENG     CN     JP
	+ **Advanced**: *Zanshin Isekeki!*
	    ENG     CN     JP
	+ **Ultimate**: *Haa! Hmph! Yah!*
	    ENG     CN     JP
* **Arrival**: *Simplicity is key.*
    ENG     CN     JP
* **Display Voice 1**: *I salute you.*
    ENG     CN     JP
* **Display Voice 2**: *Be serene.*
    ENG     CN     JP
* **Display Voice 3**: *Where's the tea?*
    ENG     CN     JP
* **Hit**: *Aaah!*
    ENG     CN     JP
* **Dying**: *It's just… death.*
    ENG     CN     JP

### Ranmaru's Snow Skin

* **Arrival**: *The blade reflects the snow while the wind is strong and sad.*
    ENG     CN     JP File:JP 301 cp ranmaru appear winter audio RS.ogg
* **Display Voice 1**: *Boiling snow is perfect for brewing tea.*
    ENG     CN     JP File:JP 301 cp ranmaru interact 1 winter audio RS.ogg
* **Display Voice 2**: *This pattern is the three magatamas, a logo used by Scarlet Warf in ancient times.*
    ENG     CN     JP File:JP 301 cp ranmaru interact 2 winter audio RS.ogg