The Last Story/Lazulis City

Welcome to Lazulis City, the sprawling capital of Lazulis Island, and the main setting for much of the game's events. Being such a large city, it's full of sidequests, shops, and other things to do and see. Many of the city's features and events will also constantly update and change as you progress through the game, so it's worthwhile to explore the city after every few chapters to make sure you don't miss anything. At the beginning of this chapter, you'll be outside Ariela's Tavern, located just south of the large Central Plaza. While in Lazulis City, you can press to view a full map of the city, showing your current location.

Free weapon upgrade
Before you go anywhere, there's a fortune teller nearby. You should check your fortunes and he'll tell you to go to a place where it's free to the first visitor. It's easily nearby, west from the Tavern location. Once you go in, you can upgrade weapons and armour at the start. If you have special items to upgrade your weapon, you should use it, as it would be helpful as battles can get out of hand easily.

Catch up with Dagran
This is the main story-advancing event in Lazulis City for the current chapter. Head north of Central Plaza, and head up the street to the west of the Dye Shop, where Dagran will call you. Look behind you in Seek Mode to find him, and he'll inform you of a company of knights visiting the city, and asks if you want to go and see them. If you want to look around the city a bit more, tell him you'll go later, or if you're done, you can go with him now. If you choose to meet him later, you'll find him on Castle Gate Plaza, just north of where you met him first. After the procession, Dagran heads back to the tavern. You can go with him now, or later. Return to the tavern when you're ready to progress to the next chapter.

The Arena
The Arena is the massive circular stadium in the northwest of the city, and is one of Syrenne's favourite attractions (aside from the pub, of course). If you head over there, you'll be greeted by her and Lowell. Follow them in if you want to try your hand at some battles (it's a good idea to use the save point just outside first). In the Arena, you'll face a number of rooms filled with various parties of enemies, mostly Reptids. The Arena, like most other locations in Lazulis City, changes as the game progresses: right now, it's Arena Season 1; Season 2 begins about halfway through the game, and Season 3 begins after you defeat the final boss. You can challenge the Arena as many times as you like, with whichever party members you want (except for the first time, when you'll be joined by Syrenne and Lowell; also, you must always control Zael), and win money for emerging victorious. The Arena increases in difficulty after every victory, so it should always be relatively close to your current level. The Arena currently recommends that you're at level 8 or higher, but a good battle technique should make up for any levels you might be short, and the first room will probably bring you up to Level 8 anyway, at which you learn a new skill, Slash (while hiding, aim at an enemy with and press ). After winning your first battle, Syrenne will give you the prize money.

Merchants
Lazulis City contains several merchants, many of whom are located on Artisan's Way, to the west of the Arena. Artisan's Way hosts: a Goods Shop, which sells "normal" items like copper and silk, that are sometimes requested by citizens of the city in sidequests; a Weapons Shop, whose current weapons are likely to be better than those you started out with, but will invariably prove inferior to weapons picked up in battle and in treasure chests as the game progresses; an Upgrade Craftsman, who can upgrade your weapons and equipment for better attack and defence stats, as long as you have the necessary money and items; an Equipment Shop, which sells armour and greaves, and will later sell some of the items necessary to upgrade equipment; and an Appraiser, who can identify unknown items you may pick up in treasure chests and in battle, allowing you to use or sell them. The Weapons and Equipment Shops will occasionally bring in new stock.

Outside of Artisan's Way, there are some smaller shops, offering more specific services. There are two Dye Shops, one in a corner shop just south of the Arena, and one to the north of Central Plaza. Here, you can exchange certain items for dyes, which are only used for customisation of your party members' outfits. The Archery Shops, on the southwest corner of Castle Gate Plaza (in the north of the city) and the northeast corner of South Gate Plaza, sells various types of arrows for your crossbow, though you'll probably pick up enough arrows from defeated enemies to render these useless. Another Upgrade Shop is located northeast of Central Plaza. To the east of Ariela's Tavern is Horace's Shop. At the moment, he simply offers equipment upgrades, though his services become much more useful later in the game. The Market is located on a long street in the east of the city. Here, you'll find a Greengrocer, who sells many of the foods requested by some citizens in sidequests, and another Dye Shop. It also contains a few more sidequests.

The Plazas
Lazulis City contains four plazas: South Gate Plaza, in the south of the city; Central Plaza, in the very centre of the city; Fountain Plaza, in the southeast; and Castle Gate Plaza, in the north. South Gate Plaza leads to Lazulis Road, and Castle Gate Plaza leads north to Lazulis Castle (though you can't go there yet). The Plazas are used as meeting points for many of the citizens of Lazulis City, and these are where you'll find many of the citizens offering sidequests.