Sheep
by Ian Tullis
Answers: MAISON, MASTER
Each of the excerpts describe fights with Mega Man bosses and/or parts of their stages. Each excerpt is written such that it simultaneously describes a Mega Man boss (a Robot Master) and a Mega Man X boss (a Maverick) with the same first word in their name (e.g., Chill Man and Chill Penguin). In cases in which there are multiple Mavericks with the same first word in their name (e.g., Flame Mammoth vs. Stag vs. Hyenard), the stage and boss details always narrow it down to one.
Indexing into the words like CHILL by the number of sheep gives USE THE LAST WORDS. The last word of every blurb is 11 letters long. As of the time of this Hunt, there are 11 Mega Man games in the main series. Taking the number of the Mega Man game that the boss is found in, index into that word. For example, Chill Man is from Mega Man 10 and Chill Penguin is from Mega Man X 1, so "heartthrobs" yields a B for the Robot Masters' message, and an H for the Mavericks' message.
First Word of Boss Name | Mega Man Game # | Mega Man X Game # | Last Word of Excerpt | MM index letter | MMX index letter |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BUBBLE | 2 | 2 | faultlessly | A | A |
SPLASH | 9 | 7 | time-honored | R | N |
FLAME | 6 | 1 | inopportune | O | I |
TORNADO | 9 | 7 | thingamabob | B | M |
SLASH | 7 | 4 | disembowels | O | E |
METAL | 2 | 6 | steelworker | T | W |
CHILL | 10 | 1 | heartthrobs | B | H |
MAGMA | 9 | 4 | treacherous | O | A |
SPARK | 3 | 1 | tastelessly | S | T |
BLAST | 11 | 3 | smithereens | S | I |
WIND | 6 | 7 | speedskater | S | K |
FROST | 8 | 4 | lickspittle | T | K |
GRAVITY | 5 | 8 | whereabouts | E | O |
BLIZZARD | 6 | 3 | make-or-break | R | K |
CRYSTAL | 5 | 2 | outsmarting | M | U |
The messages are A ROBOT BOSS'S TERM = MASTER (in this context), and ANIME WHAT IKKOKU = MAISON.