Trials of Mana/Part 2: The Mana Fairy

So, this is Lakeshore Village Astoria. Your business here is brief. You must talk to two NPCs before the game will advance. They are the woman to the east, who tells you that Holy City Wendel is across the lake, and the man to the south, who talks about a mysterious light. After you've talked to them, go to the inn and sleep. Alternatively, go into the forest and level up. It's your decision.

After you've slept a bit, you will be woken by a bright light. Follow it into the forest. It's not too hard to follow; after you pass the path to the Cave of Waterfalls, take the turn to the left and keep going until you reach the Golden Goddess Statue. This statue, and the dozens just like it scattered throughout the world, are images of the Mana Goddess. The gold ones have the power to restore your HP and MP, and both the gold and silver ones will let you save your game. Do so now.

Continue upon the path. Next screen, you will see a rather ugly gargoyle statue. For now, it does nothing. Keep a mental note of where it is; you'll need to find it later. Kepp going until you reach the light. After the scene ends, you should now be the proud owner of a Mana Fairy inside your head, which depending on your character will evoke either fear or pride. Go back to Astoria.

Um, yeah. Astoria is no more. It's been blown up. Weep if you feel like it, then head back to the forest for some training in the basics of Seiken Densetsu 3 fighting. Alternatively, go to the next chapter.

The Art of Killing Rabites


Look down at the heads-up display centered at the bottom of the screen. Let's get all the elements of it identified. The big set of numbers at the top is HP. Left side is HP remaining; right side is HP total. Below that is your character's portrait. This will change if you recieve any status effects. Kevin's portrait also changes to a werewolf when he is transformed. LV, on the left side, is short for level; MP remaining is displayed on the right. The bars surrounding your character's portrait are for Techs. Each time you attack, a set of those bars are lit blue. When they light green, yellow, or red, you can use a Tech.

Now, you need to master Techs. Go into the forest, and find some Rabites. These little critters have 20 HP, which is perfect for our needs. Using your A-button attack, hit some enemies four times. Your Tech bar should be glowing green. Now, press B. Your character will glow white and flash around, making funny noises and apparently suffering a seizure. This is normal. Walk up next to an enemy and press B to unleash your Tech on the unsuspecting Rabite. You should do roughly twice the damage you normally do to an opponent.

Before we move on, there are two more things to know. Whenever HP changes, the amount of HP gained or lost always appears on-screen in big numerals. There are four colors of HP, and they all mean different things.


 * Purple : Damage done to an enemy
 * Red : Damage done to an ally
 * Yellow : Health recovered by an enemy
 * Green : Health recovered by an ally

Also, you may have noticed that the experience gained per kill and the level of the enemy encountered appear on-screen as well. These are very useful to us. You should always try to be at the same level as the enemies around you. If you are at a lower level than them, you will find it more difficult to fight them. This book's introduction says that this game is not difficult if you follow this guide. This is important, and cannot be stressed enough. You should attempt at all times to be at either at or above the experience level of your enemies.

Now that you know the basics of fighting in Seiken Densetsu 3, let's go meet your partner and explore the Cave of Waterfalls.