This is the Chapter 8 page I should be able to open with the controller in my hand and immediately know what to do.

Current save — Sunday 7/29, 18:10

I have 135 Turns left before Cai's first main match.

This week's activities are already finished.

I am at Renown 7, have about 13,000G, and now own Bow EXP +1 in addition to Increase EXP +10%, Spear EXP +1 and Rider EXP +1.

The important lesson from the last qualifier is not that Cai needs more levels. Cai is already the strongest unit in the group. The battle hurt because too many of the people around him were much weaker.

Current quest log I can see

The screenshots show four quests currently marked Ongoing:

• Huge, Hairy Beasts — Moonwatch Pass — combat
• Purloined Spellcaster's Tools — Secret Altar — combat/retrieval
• Bringing Peace — Mulciber Marshlands — combat
• Vegetables for Arago Guests — 1/30 Melara/Shaktoh/Usamos delivered

Vegetables is not the thing I should burn the first week on. Its deadline is later, so I gather those three vegetables when they are already on my route and turn it in naturally. The three combat quests are the better immediate use of Free Time because they directly solve the EXP problem.

Exact roster snapshot

Unit	Lv	Class	Current weapon	Atk	Hit	AS	Def	Res	What that means
Cai	25	Ornius Rider	Da Mina Spear +1	38	114	20	16	19	Anchor. Stop feeding him every kill.
Alexandra	21	Wing Soldier	Iron Spear	23	100	21	11	18	Fast, safe flier; build toward the core.
Yang Jie	19	Diviner	Thunder	25	94	6	6	15	Needs levels, but already has useful magic.
Tialla	20	Diviner	Wind	20	126	10	4	17	Reliable magic anchor.
Peter	20	Hunter	Tempest Bow +1	27	127	12	13	9	Excellent accuracy; Bow EXP +1 is now helping him.
Guzran	20	Gladiator	Chosen Sword	28	111	16	14	3	Fast physical core; needs an armor answer.
Ultand	17	Diviner	Fire	22	108	8	10	14	High-priority catch-up caster.
Nydine	18	Ornius Rider	Iron Axe	27	82	12	8	9	Move her toward Spear; do not buy another axe.
Noctula	17	Gladiator	Bronze Gauntlets	19	108	16	13	6	High-priority catch-up; weapon upgrade helps immediately.
Majide	15	Gladiator	Iron Axe	36	79	1	12	3	Power is not the problem. Reliability is.

Majide's line is the clearest example of why I am not buying more axes. His Iron Axe already has enough Might to put him at 36 Attack. It also leaves him at 79 Hit and 1 AS in the current build. Buying a stronger/heavier axe would solve the wrong problem.

Chapter 8, in order

1. Right now: weapon prep before the next serious battle

I have roughly 13,000G, so I do not need to replace everybody's equipment. I need to fix specific weak points.

Buy these first

Priority	Unit	Buy	Where	Why
1	Guzran	Flyssa	Callianeria Port, Elektra	Armor-effective sword for the first main match; preserves his sword build instead of forcing another weapon type.
2	Alexandra	Da Mina Spear	Megaira, Saveilon	Direct upgrade from her Iron Spear; she already has the Spear rank to use it.
3	Noctula	Da Mina Gauntlets	Mons, Braxithea	Big damage upgrade over Bronze Gauntlets without turning her into a slow tank.
4	Nydine	Iron Spear if I do not already own a spare	Port of Pandora is the cheapest documented shop; also Megaira/Breston/Dagsion	She already has Spear D. A 100-Hit, Wt-7 Iron Spear fits the mounted build much better than buying yet another axe.
5	Peter	Hunter's Bow	Ribeira	Specialist purchase for beast-heavy maps; Tempest Bow +1 stays his default weapon.

Current published prices put Flyssa around 2,100G, Da Mina Spear at 4,000G, Da Mina Gauntlets around 2,800G, and Hunter's Bow around 2,100G. That is about 11,000G before the cheap Nydine spear, so the first four purchases fit the current budget if I skip Hunter's Bow initially.

No new weapon needed

Cai: Da Mina Spear +1 is already doing the job.

Peter: Tempest Bow +1 is already excellent as an everyday bow. Hunter's Bow is a specialist tool, not a replacement.

Tialla / Yang Jie / Ultand: do not burn 13k replacing working spells just because shops exist. Their bigger need is level/class growth.

Majide: buy nothing for his axe slot. Keep the Iron Axe, remove the shield, and only give him attacks where the forecast is safe enough that a miss will not cost somebody else their life.

Check the convoy before buying specialist weapons

A previous Cai mentorship can award a Halberd. If I already have it, do not buy another.

The first main match benefits from armor-piercing weapons, so the useful specialist kit is:

• Guzran — Flyssa
• Cai or Nydine — Halberd if already owned
• magic from Tialla / Yang Jie / Ultand
• Peter from range

No axe purchase is needed to cover armor.

2. First battle: Huge, Hairy Beasts — Moonwatch Pass

This is one of the current active Chapter 8 subquests and expires with the chapter. It also pays 2 Dates, which are useful on Cai's route.

Team priority

Use the available deployment slots in roughly this order:

Cai → Peter → Alexandra → Nydine → Noctula → Ultand → Majide → Tialla

Why:

• Cai is the safety valve.
• Peter is the natural beast specialist and should take a lot of work here.
• Alexandra can rescue bad positioning and is still only level 21.
• Nydine / Noctula / Ultand / Majide are the people I actually need to level.
• Tialla is the reliable backup if the map gives me another slot.

Majide gets safe finishing blows, not enemy-phase exposure.

If I buy Hunter's Bow, this is the battle that justifies it. If I do not, Peter keeps Tempest Bow +1 and the plan still works.

3. Use the same trip to look for Giant's Meat

Goliath is already Support 3 + Renown 7 ready. I need 3 Giant's Meat.

There are two approaches.

Preferred: Giant-icon skirmishes once the catch-up team is safer

Giants can appear in world-map skirmishes, commonly reported south of Breston and west of Credna's Temple.

The advantage is obvious: the meat and the EXP come from the same fight.

The disadvantage is that Giant skirmishes can be dramatically above my current weak units. I do not take a level-35 Giant battle just because Goliath is waiting if it means repeating the qualifier problem with a level-15 Majide.

Anti-RNG fallback: trade for two pieces at Alecto

The Vandahl trader at Alecto can trade 10 Torment Grass for one Giant's Meat, with documented stock of 2.

Cai cannot use the Nysiades desert sources, but Scorched-Grass Dunes in Lambath has Torment Grass and is usable as a non-Nysiades source.

That means the fallback is:

20 Torment Grass → Alecto → 2 Giant's Meat

Then I only need one meat from a Giant encounter / other source.

This is the right fallback if Giant spawn RNG starts consuming more Turns than the recruitment is worth.

4. Bringing Peace — Mulciber Marshlands

This is the best money-and-EXP quest currently sitting in the log: 7,000G + 130 Renown.

Do it early enough that the reward can finance the rest of the chapter's gear.

Team priority

Cai → Alexandra → Guzran → Tialla → Yang Jie → Ultand → Noctula → Nydine

Majide sits this one out unless he has already gained enough levels that the battle forecast stops showing unreliable Hit / terrible AS.

Why this group:

• Cai + Alexandra are the safe mobile anchors.
• Guzran is durable enough to hold a physical lane.
• Tialla / Yang Jie / Ultand get valuable magic work.
• Noctula and Nydine get catch-up EXP without being asked to carry the map.

If I still have the Cleansing Blade picked up from the earlier qualifier, Guzran should carry it when the Underworld enemies' defensive boon matters. Do not buy another copy unless I actually need it.

5. Purloined Spellcaster's Tools — Secret Altar

The route is:

Gate of the Gods → Aurora's Temple → Masked Woods → designated rear exit → Secret Altar

This quest is not as urgent as the Chapter-8-expiry battles, but it gives a White-Magic Manual, 1,500G and 80 Renown.

Team priority

This is the catch-up map for the units who can actually tolerate magic:

Cai → Alexandra → Tialla → Yang Jie → Ultand → Peter → Guzran → Noctula

Majide is last priority here because his current Res is only 3.

Ultand belongs in this fight even if somebody stronger could replace her. She is level 17 with 19 Magic and 14 Res; this is exactly the kind of battle that can turn her into a real member of the team instead of leaving her ten levels behind Cai.

6. Any additional Chapter-8-expiry combat quests

If Blight-Louse Extermination Request or Beasts Blocking the Path Home appears in this save, do those before spending the chapter on generic dungeon grinding.

For a beast/swarm battle, use:

Cai + Peter + Alexandra as anchors, then fill from Nydine / Noctula / Ultand / Majide in order of who still needs levels.

The goal is not to bring the seven strongest people to every easy quest. The easy quests are where the weak half should catch up.

7. Weekly rhythm — four more resets

From the current Sunday 7/29 save, the remaining Sunday resets before the 9/1 main match are:

• 8/5
• 8/12
• 8/19
• 8/26

I have already finished the 7/29 cycle.

Every time I return on/after a Sunday reset:

1. Feed Pale Raven.
2. Stable.
3. Accept Karma from Notable Deeds.
4. Talk to red characters / report quests.
5. Temple Service — Aurora is the current Blessing target.
6. Arena combat training.
7. Theater if I have a specific Support target that still matters.
8. Meals after Motivation-using activities.
9. Check recruiting / Renown.
10. Leave town for the next training block.

These do not need to become an excuse to spend the whole week in Dagsion.

8. Between quest battles: train the weak half, not Cai

Once the current combat quests are cleared, the default EXP order is:

Majide 15 → Noctula 17 / Ultand 17 → Nydine 18 → Yang Jie 19 → Peter/Tialla/Guzran 20 → Alexandra 21 → Cai 25

On-map EXP

Use level-appropriate dungeons/skirmishes where the weak units can actually participate.

Cai's job is to soften or intercept enemies, not take every kill.

Combat Auto-Activities

These are especially valuable now because they can raise multiple lagging units at once.

When assigning the Combat group, prioritize:

Majide + Noctula + Ultand + Nydine + Yang Jie

Rotate Peter/Tialla/Guzran/Alexandra in only after the bottom of the roster has stopped being a liability.

Level goals

Before the first main match:

• Hard floor for likely deployment: around 24-25
• Preferred core: around 27-30
• Cai: whatever happens naturally; he is not the grind target

This is intentionally above the normal curve. That is the point.

9. Majide-specific rule

Majide is the unit most likely to tempt me into the wrong fix.

Current numbers:

Lv15 · 36 Atk · 79 Hit · 1 AS · 12 Def · 3 Res

The Iron Axe itself is 13 Mt / 65 Hit / 10 Wt.

So:

• no shield
• no new axe
• use him on low-risk player-phase finishers
• do not expose him to magic
• feed him Combat Auto-Activity time
• let his level/Dex/Spd/class growth solve the underlying problem
• if he is still sitting around 80 Hit and 1 AS near the main match, he does not make the starting lineup just because his Attack number is huge

10. Final week — 8/26 to the first main match

After the 8/26 Sunday reset, I stop planning long sightseeing loops.

Do the full weekly routine.

Then:

• finish any Chapter-8-expiry quest still open
• repair/refine the weapons I am actually bringing
• use Combat Auto-Activities for remaining catch-up
• recruit Goliath if the 3 meat are ready
• do not burn the final days on a remote optional dungeon just because it exists

11. First main match: deployment plan

The upcoming battle rewards armor-piercing weapons and patient positioning.

I do not need to know every story beat in advance. I need a roster that can survive when Cai is not standing next to everybody.

Starting-unit priority

Fill the available deployment slots in this order after training:

1. Cai — Da Mina Spear +1; main anchor.
2. Alexandra — Da Mina Spear; mobility and excellent AS.
3. Guzran — Chosen Sword + Flyssa; physical lane / armor answer.
4. Peter — Tempest Bow +1; ranged pressure.
5. Tialla — reliable offensive magic.
6. Yang Jie — second magic lane / utility.
7. Noctula — only if she has caught up; upgraded gauntlets.
8. Nydine — mounted pressure; spear preferred.
9. Ultand — if she has reached the level floor; otherwise bench for this one.
10. Majide — only if training fixed the Hit/AS problem enough that he is dependable.

If Goliath is recruited and arrives at a competitive level, he can take the slot of whichever of Majide/Ultand/Nydine is still furthest behind.

How I want to play it

• Take the opening slowly instead of sprinting toward enemies.
• Let Cai/Alexandra/Guzran define safe engagement ranges.
• Use Flyssa / Halberd / magic on armored enemies rather than trying to brute-force them.
• Do not let Peter or the casters become the nearest target to a dangerous enemy.
• Do not use Cai to clean up an enemy that Majide/Noctula/Ultand can safely finish for EXP.
• Before committing to a large enemy, position enough units that it dies in one coordinated turn.

Shopping checklist — no axes

• Flyssa — Callianeria Port — Guzran
• Da Mina Spear — Megaira — Alexandra
• Da Mina Gauntlets — Mons — Noctula
• Iron Spear — Port of Pandora if no spare exists — Nydine
• Hunter's Bow — Ribeira — Peter, optional/specialist
• Check convoy for Halberd before buying anything similar
• Buy zero axes

That last line is not a joke. It is the constraint.