This quest is bigger than the previous one we had, and by a large gap. If we wanted to stand a chance, we'd have to prepare for the worst-case scenario. So, I asked your uncle Austria for help planning. You see, in a past life before he became Dr. Austria, he was a talented military strategist. He'd often talk to me about plans he came up with, and so I asked for his assistance in our first-ever trying moment as a crew. He suggested that we look for more tough nuts on the island. One person, in particular, caught his attention after hearing rumors about her being here – a Valkyrie who had defected from the Holy Empire in the west. Her name was Joy, which was ironic considering how she wasn't in quite the state of joy at the time. After all, the island she'd run off to was now occupied by a large group of pirates who've got nothing better to do than terrorize its inhabitants. Who wouldn't be angered? I sure as hell would be.
So, we agreed to send my sister Zeth and the Great Sage Jey to find her. Our sources suggest that she had settled down somewhere in the middle of the island where the resources were plentiful and of the highest quality.
But before I could praise him for his excellent idea, he cuts me off and tells me that one new member wouldn't be enough. After all, our crew consisted only of melee weapon users and one mage. Max was a boxer who used iron gauntlets, Zeth and I have mastered the way of the sword and shield, your uncle Austria uses a gun, but he only has one, and its range was not the best. Jiro can tame monsters but can't bring too many into battle. Jey could use magic, but at such a large scale, we don't think she'll hold up; after all, using that much magic depletes a person's psyche really quickly. So, he suggested we call upon a favor the Emperor owed me from a few years ago. He told me that I should ask them to send over "God's Almighty Eye" – Kinny Hitomori, a veteran in the War for Yulch that ended not so long ago. I, of course, obliged.
But manpower wasn't our only problem; our gear was, to say the least, lacking. We weren't expecting that we'd have to face such a formidable foe this early on in our journey. He told me that the villagers had informed him about the location of a local Mythril mine – a light yet sturdy mystic metal. So, we assigned ourselves to the task of gathering Mythril and finding a blacksmith to process it and forge gear that would best fit each member of our little crew. If we're lucky, we might have the chance to recruit a blacksmith to our crew.
Now that a lot of us had jobs to attend to, we assigned Jiro to assist a local who could make monster flutes – a magical instrument that, when played by a tamer, could draw the attention of monsters and enemy humans alike. We also left Max to keep an eye on him and save his poor soul if anything were to happen while we were out doing our duties.
Luckily for us, the Emperor works fast and had Kinny on the next boat off to our location, armed to the teeth with long-range weapons. My personal favorite was his Canthril Walther PPK.
(Story Fact: Canthril is the second-best mineral in the region where the 4 Winds Empire is found.)
(A reference to Fallout 4: "The Deliverer" pistol, which is given to the player by Deacon, is a silenced Walther PPK.)