| Ambitious scientist | |
|---|---|
| |
| Icolle of Port Kapul asked me to bring 5 filled monster balls. I still need to bring him 5 of them. | |
| Quest giver | Icolle the biologist |
| Location | Port Kapul |
| Rec. level | 5 |
| Requirements | None |
| Task | Capture 5 monsters with the monster balls and turn them in |
| Reward | A Gene machine 2500 gold 2 platinum coins |
Ambitious Scientist Lv5
From: Icolle the biologist, SW Port Kapul
Reward: Gene machine, 2500 Gold, 2 Platinum coins.
Task: The biologist will drop on the ground 6 monster balls, 5 of which you have to fill (by throwing them at monsters that are very low on HP) and return. There are no conditions on what to fill them with, only that they be filled.
Journal updates:
- Quest accepted: Icolle of Port Kapul asked me to bring 5 filled monster balls. I still need to bring him X (number remaining) of them.
Strategies
It is advisable for new characters to head to Port Kapul and begin this quest early on, as then one can complete the quest through normal course of play. Advanced characters will likely have problems with damaging the creatures that can be captured without killing them. If you do wait until you reach a higher level to complete this quest, an easy way to complete it is to make your allies wait in town and go through the Puppy Cave without a melee weapon or gloves. Using shurikens or chestnuts (for their bleed effect) on the relatively durable Hermit Crab, found easily in the wilderness right next to Port Kapul, is also an effective strategy for characters of any level.
The best places to find monsters that satisfy the quest are in the wilderness near towns (either by pressing Enter while in the vicinity of a town, or wandering around until a putty-rank ambush appears) and in the Puppy Cave. You can leave and re-enter a new random wilderness square just by exiting to the world map and going back into the same spot without any time passing on the overworld.
Note that if you lose the monster balls by any means, you will have to buy or find new ones yourself. Also, keep in mind that the filled balls weigh 10s, so you may want to turn in the captures before you're overweight to prevent you from getting the huge speed loss and damage from carrying too much. There is no penalty for turning in one or two at a time. The gene machine itself also weighs 25s, so you may want to use a return scroll to get it back to your home more easily.
If you complete this quest by using exactly five monster balls, you'll be able to keep the unused monster ball. This can save you time with the Mia's dream quest if you lost the one rewarded from the Thieves' hideout quest.
Thankfully, Elona+ makes this quest much easier thanks to the Knockout special action, which leaves enemies alive with 1HP.
After completing the quest in Elona+, Icolle can re-initialize the PC's or pet's body pieces at the cost of 1 Life. Be warned however that for mutants this will also remove all slots gained through levels, and it may not be possible to regain these limbs through earning XP.
The end result will be the default limbs of that character's race, not a standard limb layout (head/neck/back/body/waist/hand/hand/arm/ring/ring/leg/shoot/ammo). There is no way to remove specific, targeted limbs at this time.
It is impossible to give limbs to pets with 1 life.
Dialogue
- Offer
- Oh oh oh! You've come at *just* the right time. I'm so busy I'd take help from a cat if I had to. I'm doing research in the most remarkable field of genetic engineering. You see, I can take two living creatures and combine them to produce an even stronger creature! Is that not the most amazing thing you've ever heard? I need five test subjects for the final stage of the experiment. Won't you go get some for me? I'll reward you with the gene splicing machine I'm building.
- Alright, I'll see what I can do.
- Good good! Take these monster balls with you. Do you know how to use them? Yes yes, throw them at a monster when it is near death. The ball won't work if the monster is too high in level, so be careful. Please bring me five captured monsters. Oh... and... *please* bring them back to me IN the balls!
- Bye bye.
- Then get out of my way you fool!
- Incomplete
- Let's go over this one last time... I need five samples to proceed. FIVE.
- Turn in a monster ball
- Oh oh! What a fine batch of samples you've brought me. I can finally proceed with the final stage.
- Complete
- Success! The experiment is a huge success! You've done a great job! To express my thanks I'll let you use my gene splicing machine. Please take good care of it.
- Return
- I don't have time to talk, I'm busy conducting experiments. Out of the way!