Chapter 77: Interlude: World Truth Book "Tombguard Arc"

The appropriate number of players for the Tombguard Wethermon raid is "6 to 7." As a fundamental prerequisite, assume that all members possess 3 to 4 resurrection items.

The breakdown of members is:

• Wethermon Duty: Ideally, a tank with evasion skills, or a profession with many evasion-type skill spells.
• Kirin Duty: Someone with the player skill to ride Kirin without being thrown off, or the Rider profession.
• Support Duty: Buffers, professions capable of using resurrection magic.

Tombguard Wethermon Walkthrough

Upon entering the battle field "Inverted Garden," all players are forcibly leveled down to 50. Since stat points allocated after Level 50 temporarily disappear, players equipped with gear that has stat requirements must be careful.

Tombguard Wethermon uses "Tachikaze" as soon as the battle begins. The target is the player closest to Wethermon, and since it targets the neck with certainty, the initial strike can be evaded by crouching during the preliminary motion.

• Tachikaze: A godspeed sword-drawing (Iaido) strike. Since the preliminary motion is relatively large, take evasive action based on the "moment the Iaido stance is completed," not the moment the sword is drawn. The simplest countermeasure is to move out of the Iaido slash's range.
• Raisho: He raises his katana, generating a massive amount of lightning instantly. The more the aggro (hate) is dispersed, the more lightning bolts appear, spreading damage over a wide area. Therefore, it is desirable to handle Wethermon with a small number of people. If you run at full speed, you won't be hit by the lightning, so evasion itself is easy. However, be careful as consuming too much stamina might leave you vulnerable to his next action.
• Nyudogumo: A sweeping technique creating a giant arm of clouds with the arm not holding the katana. The safe zones for this technique are clearly behind Wethermon and above the arm. The preliminary motion is large, so as long as you recognize it, dealing with it is easy. However, if the distance pulled from Kirin (mentioned later) is insufficient, the Kirin duty or support duty members might get hit, potentially causing the battle line to collapse.
• Ooshike: A grab attack used primarily when he has lost his katana for some reason. The heavier the target, the more the slam damage increases, so heavy armor users like tanks must be especially careful. However, since he just reaches out straight, it isn't difficult to avoid even without evasion skills if you pay close attention. Parry skills can also be used, so tanks who find it hard to dodge can deflect the hand on the spot as an option. However, watch out for the follow-up attack.
• Kasairyu: A technique used only when Wethermon's aggro is directed at 3 or more people. He stabs his katana into the ground, randomly selects one target from those he has aggro on, and generates a pillar of fire from the ground beneath them. Evasion itself isn't difficult, but since this technique is a set with "Ash Blizzard" (mentioned below), you must be careful of the danger of a total party wipe in the worst case.
• Haifubuki: A technique used as a set with Kasairyu. The Pyroclastic Dragon is converted into black smoke in the sky, enveloping a 5-meter radius around the fire pillar's spawn point and rapidly shrinking the encirclement. If you don't escape before being completely surrounded, you should prepare yourself for certain death. Incidentally, since it causes "Death by Suffocation," the mental damage is greater than being slashed to death.
• Tenkiyohou: A wide-range shockwave used when entering the Third Phase. In the Third Phase (detailed later), Wethermon gains the Undead Attribute, so this can be prevented with high-level purification items or magic. It has armor-piercing effects, so if hit, expect near-instant death damage.
• Seiten Taisei : Usually activates ten minutes after entering the Third Phase—a so-called "Berserk Mode." He unleashes the aforementioned actions almost continuously for thirty seconds. However, since the skill selection is random, if he uses Tachikaze consecutively, preliminary motions will occur between actions, so it's not completely without openings. If he still has his katana after thirty seconds have passed, he will use Tensei.
• Tensei: An overhead slash that is loaded with every effect imaginable: Instant Death Effect, Armor Penetration, Equipment Destruction, Magic Penetration, Skill Penetration, and Unavoidable. A direct hit guarantees death, but all these effects are applied only to the "blade portion" of the katana. In short, as long as you aren't cut, it's no different from a slashing attack delivered with high STR. Since he paralyzes players in response to evasive maneuvers, an evasion tank is not preferred for taking this technique. It is possible to deflect it with a Parry if you have sufficient power and STR. The difficulty is high, but concentrating high-firepower attacks on a single point to deflect it is also a method. However, hitting the blade will nullify and destroy everything, so if you aim to deflect, aim for the side of the katana, not the edge. The safest method is to have a player with Parry skills take all of Wethermon's aggro (via methods described later) and receive the Tensei. Note that "once Tensei has already been activated, the target will not change even if aggro changes."
• The simplest countermeasure is "Destroy the Katana." If Wethermon's katana is destroyed, he will only use Nyudogumo and Ooshike during Seiten Taisei, and the battle will end without him using Tensei, significantly lowering the difficulty. However, be aware that the rewards and titles obtained will change if this method is used.

Tombguard Wethermon Special Actions

Due to story characteristics, Tombguard Wethermon prioritizes protecting Setsuna's grave above all else. If anyone is close to the grave, or worse, tries to destroy it, he will target that player with absolute priority.

In the First and Second Phases, Wethermon has Super Armor and Damage Reduction, nullifying almost all attacks. Naturally, he also repels debuff magic.

In the Third Phase, Wethermon's armor breaks, allowing attacks to pass through. At this point, Wethermon gains the Undead Attribute, making items and magic effective against undead his weakness. However, unless they are significantly high-level, he will ignore them and attack.

Upon entering the Third Phase, Wethermon enters a Self-Destruct State where his HP depletes every second. If left alone, his HP will reach "0" in approximately ten minutes. However, he will not fall even if his HP hits 0. The battle ends by fulfilling the condition: "Survive Seiten Taisei with all players alive (All players must be alive the moment he finishes unleashing Tensei; if a player who died to Tensei is revived, you must start over from the beginning)."

Tactical Mecha Horse "Kirin"

A horse-type golem summoned from the subspace storage facility the moment Tombguard Wethermon enters the Second Phase (10 minutes after battle start). If left alone, it will race around the field firing missiles and lasers wildly. Furthermore, if left alone for a certain period during the Second Phase, it will combine with Wethermon, so you must designate personnel to deal with it. Its weakness is that "If a player is on its back, it only performs a bucking motion to throw them off," so performing a rodeo until the Third Phase is the optimal solution for suppression. Once the Third Phase begins, it becomes susceptible to damage, but since its VIT is exceptionally high even compared to Wethermon, brute-force conquest is practically impossible.

• Horse Mode: Basically runs around the field scattering missiles and lasers. It only attempts to throw players off if someone is on its back.
• Centaur Mode: If Kirin and Wethermon merge during the Second Phase, Kirin's head transforms, and they combine into a Centaur-like form. In this state, it scatters missiles and lasers, rains down lightning, swings giant cloud arms, and runs around the field, making it practically untouchable. Naturally, it has Super Armor and damage reduction, making damaging it nearly impossible.
• Armor Mode: The form Kirin transforms into during the Third Phase. It looks like a headless giant, using physical attacks with its limbs in addition to missiles and lasers. As a trump card, it has a large-caliber laser cannon built into its abdomen. If its HP drops below 40% or its abdominal armor is destroyed, it enters Berserk Mode, attacking indiscriminately regardless of aggro. The abdominal laser cannon naturally deals instant-death class damage, but it is also a weakness; an Energy Core (Weakness) exists deep inside the muzzle. Incidentally, if Kirin and Wethermon merge before Wethermon activates Seiten Taisei, Wethermon will combine with the Armor Mode Kirin and activate Seiten Taisei on a Giant Scale, unfolding a hellish sequence of actions.

Efficiency-Focused Walkthrough for Tombguard Wethermon

Concentrate attacks on the hand gripping Wethermon's katana to make him let go, then steal the katana. While tanks draw the aggro of Wethermon (and potentially Kirin), destroy the absurdly durable katana by any means necessary. Since the vanguard cannot receive support while the rearguard is busy hitting the katana, they will have to buy time with assaults akin to suicide attacks. Essentially, a Zombie Attack. Wethermon's actions are severely restricted once he loses the katana, dramatically lowering the difficulty. However, clearing it this way causes Setsuna's affection rating to drop by a rather unamusing amount, and the reward becomes only the "Storage Key: Inventoria" (excluding the Tome of Truth "Tombguard Edition").

Tombguard Wethermon Story Settings

Strictly speaking, in the First and Second Phases, the character "Wethermon" is not the one moving; the Powered Suit Wethermon is wearing moves with a "Will." It's like an armored version of "Setsuna of Distant Days" imbued with Wethermon's will.

The consciousness of the character Wethermon revives only in the Third Phase. Thereby, his attribute shifts from Machine to "Failure to Die"—that is, science-based Undead. By the way, regarding the contents of the armor: Since the body was "Fixed" using high technology, it's not a mummy moving the armor, but the body of a man remaining in his youthful prime. He was "Fixed" along with his consciousness during the First and Second Phases.

Upon entering the Third Phase, Wethermon's own consciousness awakens. Because the "Fixation" is undone, Wethermon's body rapidly ages and collapses... in other words, self-destructs. The reason he continues to move until Tensei is overcome is solely due to Wethermon's tenacity, which suppresses even his own self-destruction.

In the distant ancient times, the era known as the Age of Gods, a small misunderstanding and a small lie Wethermon told out of a momentary lapse in judgment caused Setsuna's death. Because of this, Wethermon decided to live as a gravekeeper for eternity. Setsuna herself understood Wethermon's personality, so on her deathbed, she wished, "Unless someone stops him, this guy won't stop being a gravekeeper even if he dies. I pray someone will stop him." As a result, "Setsuna of Distant Days" was born.

The withered cherry tree was planted by Wethermon along with Setsuna's grave; it was Setsuna's favorite flower. Like Wethermon, it was subjected to "Fixation," but unlike Wethermon himself, the "Fixation" was incomplete, so it began to wither. To prevent this, Wethermon used the thesis left by Setsuna to do this and that, utilizing magic power from the moon to "Invert" the space along with time, transferring the grave (Setsuna returned to the earth) and the cherry tree (which hadn't withered to a fatal level yet) to the "Reverse Side" of the space.

This "Inversion" can be compared to a "Woodblock Print." The rotting woodblock is the Surface Space, and the print made from it is the Reverse Space. Time is stopped in the Reverse Space at the moment of inversion. The grave marker of Setsuna existing in the remaining Surface Space disappeared due to weathering, and the tree with incomplete "Fixation" kept its shape but withered completely. However, because Setsuna was buried at the roots of the cherry tree, and because the place where the grave marker once stood was definitely recognized as "Setsuna's Place," "Setsuna of Distant Days" came to spawn from the cherry tree in the Surface Space.

As a side note, the various semi-permanent life-prolonging treatments applied simultaneously with the "Fixation" lost their target when the cherry tree withered. These treatments activated a wide range of plants, causing moss that originally emitted a faint light to gain a light intensity comparable to sunlight, and causing plants to grow to the scale of a sea of trees in a place that was just a large-scale cave, multiplying enough flowers to cover the ground. In short, although indirectly, the area known as Cavern of the Myriad Flowers itself was created by Wethermon.

Regarding points like "Was it necessary to be a gravekeeper to the extent of freezing even his consciousness?" or "The grave in the Reverse Space is just a copy, and the actual grave of Setsuna has disappeared, hasn't it?"—that just shows how stubborn a person Wethermon was, and how his thinking wasn't working properly due to the passage of aeons.

By the way, even Wethermon in the flesh can use most techniques, including Tensei. Converted to levels, he is strong enough to easily exceed Level 99. It's not "giving a metal club to an ogre," but "A Master Swordsman in a Powered Suit."

Author's Afterword:

These were the various settings for Wethermon, which reaffirmed that one should not let a lore-nerd talk about lore. I'm writing this with the feeling of actually fleshing out a game strategy Wiki.